EMERGENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY

I) BUDDHISM

a) History of Buddhism

• Buddhism was believed to have started in India by Siddhartha Gautama. •

The word "buddha" means "awakened one," referring to enlightenment.

• According to Buddhist literature, it was prophesied that he would become a king if he stayed at
home or a great sage and the savior of humanity if he left.

• Siddhartha's father did not want his son to leave home because he wanted his son to be a king
and follow in his footsteps.

• As Siddhartha stayed in the palace he was unaware about poverty and human suffering,
when he left the palace to understand about life he had witnessed poverty and human
suffering.

• When he witnessed human suffering he decided to abandon his previous life and devote himself
to working out a way to end suffering.

b) Teaching of Buddhism
- Since Buddha does not refer to a unique individual, Buddhism focuses less on a person as
the founder but rather on the teachings of Buddha.
- These teachings include ways to help individuals develop compassion and avoid illusions
that cause attachments and bring suffering to an individual and to those the individual
interacts with.
- The guide to this process is known as the Dharma or Dhamma, patterns of reality and
cosmic order discovered by Buddha, Buddhist teachings, the path, and the ultimate goal
of Buddhism, Nirvana.

c) Noble Truths
1. Dukkha (the truth of suffering)
2. Dukkha- Samudaya (the truth of cause of suffering)
3. Dukkha- Nirodha (the truth of end of suffering)
4. Dukkha- Magga (the truth of path that lead to end of suffering)
1. Dukkha (truth of suffering)

• The first noble truth and also known as noble truth of suffering
• Life according to the Buddhist concept interpreted as suffering and pain. •The life

is not negatively interpreted in Buddhism but it shows the realistic version.

• Dukkha arises when the discrepancy causes an undesired emotion, such as anxiety,
anger, frustration, or jealousy.

• Buddha’s teachings do not end with suffering, rather they go on and tell us about what we can
do about it and how to end dukkha.

2. Dukkha - Samudaya (the truth of cause of suffering)

• Explained about what causes suffering.

• Buddha claimed that the cause of all suffering such as anxiety, greed etc. is deeply rooted.

• In Buddhism, desire- tanha and ignorance lie at the root of suffering.

• By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which
are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering.

• Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing the world as it actually is. Without the capacity
for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one's mind is left undeveloped, unable
to grasp the true nature of things.

• Negative emotions such as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this

ignorance. 3. Dukkha - Nirodha (the truth of the end of suffering)

• The way to extinguish desire which cause suffering is to liberate oneself from attachment
NIRVANA

• In Buddhism, nirvana is the highest state that someone can attain, a state of
enlightenment, meaning a person's individual desires and suffering go away.

• Attaining Nirvana i.e., reaching enlightenment means extinguishing the three fires of
greed, delusions and hatred.

4. Dukkha- Magga (the truth of path that lead to end of suffering)

• The final noble truth.

• This explains the path to end suffering and this principle is called the Eightfold Path.

• This is also known as the Middle Way as this means to avoid complete gratification and
complete abstinence.
The Eight stages are:

1. Right Understanding (sammā-diṭṭhi) – It means the true perception of noble truths. It is a

clear one's path from confusion, misunderstanding, and deluded thinking. It is a means to
gain right understanding of reality
2. Right Action (sammā-kammanta) – one shouldn’t criticize others, or take actions that
would hurt others. Refraining from killing, stealing etc.
3. Right Livelihood (sammā-ājīva)– Buddha teaches that one shouldn’t live by harming
others or making other people unhappy. This includes exploiting others, trading weapons
or drugs etc.
4. Right Speech (sammā-vācā) – According to the Teachings of Buddha, one needs to speak
consciously, and respect others. Also include avoiding lying and gossiping about others. 5.
Right Intention (sammā-saṅkappa) – can also be known as "right thought“.In this factor, the
practitioner resolves to strive toward non-violence (ahimsa) and avoid violent and hateful
conduct
6. Right Efforts (sammā-vāyāma) – One needs to adopt the right habits and abandon the bad
habits.
7. Right Concentration (Samma sati) - means to remain mindful of the body, feelings,
consciousness, and mental phenomena while abandoning attachment and aversion. It is to
remain aware of what you are doing.
8. Right Mindfulness (Samma Samadhi) – means to remain withdrawn from our senses and
focused upon the object of our meditation while we practice. By avoiding
counter-productive, harmful thoughts and actions, we develop a stable mind. We create a
situation where our mind isn’t easily disturbed and can more naturally be directed in
meditation.
d) Branches of Buddhism

1. Theravada Buddhism
2. Mahayana Buddhism
3. Vajrayana Buddhism

1. THERAVADA BUDDHISM

• Hinayana - PATH OF ELDERS

• Believed to be the oldest form of Buddhism

• The school's adherents, termed theravādins, have preserved their version of the Gautama
Buddha's teaching in the Pa ̄li Canon.It is primary religious text (i.e. a collection of the earliest
Buddhist scriptures).

• By studying these ancient texts, meditating, and following the eightfold path, Theravada
Buddhists believe they will achieve Enlightenment.
•Strong emphasis is also placed on the monastic community and on heeding the advice of the
wise.

2. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

• Also known as the "Great Vehicle".

• Mahayana was developed later than Theravada but is now a more expansive form of Buddhism.
• Mahayana Buddhists believe in the Bodhisattva ideal, where individuals strive not only for
their own enlightenment but also for the universal enlightenment and salvation of all beings.

• It is more liberal in its interpretation of Buddhist doctrine than Theravada and includes
additional scriptures like the Mahayana Sutras.

3. VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM

• Vajrayana Buddhism- Also known as Tantric Buddhism or Tibetan

Buddhism. • It shows a quicker path to enlightenment, these are Buddhist tantras,

rituals. • Vajrayana is a distinct branch of Buddhism that originated in Tibet.

• It draws upon elements of Mahayana Buddhism but also includes unique practices and
teachings, such as tantra, deity yoga, meditative techniques etc.

• The role of enlightened teachers - known as lamas - is a large focus of Tibetan Buddhists.
It views enlightenment as something that can be attained in a single lifetime.

II) SUFISM
a) Introduction

• Islam started in 1400 years ago in the Arabian peninsula.

• Then Islam spread to other parts of the world such as Syria, Africa, Europe and India.

• When Islam spread, local cultures contributed to the fabric of Islam with their own cultural
heritage to create a unique expression as well as distinct forms of religious practice and rituals.

b) Islam : Exoteric and esoteric

• Sufism is an esoteric dimension or inner territory of Islam.

• The exoteric dimension, or the outer layer, is known as sharia (literally meaning a road).
c) Four Stages of Practice and Understanding Sufism
1. Sharia (Religious Law)
2. Tariqah (The mystic path)
3. Haqiqah (Truth)
4. Marifah (Gnosis)

1. SHARIA
● Sharia is a set of relatively fixed rules and guidelines for the average Muslim. The
sharia is a collection of principles and practices that govern the day-to-day life of
Muslims.
● The ordinary Muslim is expected to follow the rules of sharia as a driver follows a road
without deviating.
● The sharia is analogous to the crust of the earth or the surface terrain which is solid.
● Below this terrain is the esoteric realm, or the inner terrain.

2. TARIQAH
● Tariqah is not pre-established and requires the expert knowledge of a guide to traverse.
● When one enters the tariqah, he or she is initiated into a Sufi order with the help of a
teacher (sheikh) who has experience and knowledge of the path.
● At this part of the journey the heart of the seeker is full of passions and the journey full of
trials and to reach spiritual transformation, purification and removal of these passions
must occur.
● The tariqah is analogous to the hot magma layer beneath the earth’s crust, which is
hot and fluid as is the fire in the heart of the seeker
- The Role of Sheikh in Sufism
● Fana, or ego-annihilation, is also described in terms of a parallel process for an initiated
● At first a disciple undergoes a process of loss of self-identity through identification with
the qualities of his or her teacher.
● Sufi practice, like those of other traditions, is best mastered under the guidance of a
teacher.
● The sheikh, in the beginning, acts as a mirror through which the disciple gains insight
into his or her characteristics of personality.
● Slowly the disciple observes the many virtuous qualities of the teacher and cultivates
them.

3. HAQIQAH
● The third layer is that of a higher spiritual consciousness called Haghighat
(Truth-consciousness).
● It is analogous to huge solid mantle of the earth
● Haghighat is a stable and unshakable faith and perfection of Truth-consciousness.
Marifah
● The innermost core of Islam is known as ma’rifa (Gnosis), which refers to direct
knowledge and love of the Divine.
 ● Just as little is known about the core of the Earth, to the seeker this part of the journey is
a mere mystery, the secret of all secrets.
● Only persistence, patience and absolute purity of the heart and soul and total
sincerity could
bring the seeker into direct union with God consciousness.
● This level is attained by very few.

d) Major Concepts in Sufi Psychology : Nafs, Heart and Soul

• The journey from our mundane surface awareness to the depths and heights of
self-consciousness involves a process of transformation of personality and consciousness that
may be described in terms of seven stages of psychospiritual transformation.

• Individual travels a unique path suited to his/ her unique personality characteristics and
spiritual potential.

Nafs (Self)

• The term Nafs means ‘self’. It has also been translated as ‘ego’ or ‘lower self’. • Nafs is not
just the lower self, but when qualified, it refers to all stages of self as it undergoes
transformation.
• In Sufi psychology the self, or nafs, is an aspect of the psyche that begins as our worst
adversary but can develop into an invaluable tool.

Heart

• Heart is the reconciler of material and spiritual realities, and the gateway to the soul and
to the final stations of consciousness.

• In Sufi practice the initial goal is to open the seeker’s heart.

• The open heart first helps to transcend, and then, transform the nafs.

• As the nafs transforms, it no longer acts as a separative agent, but rather cooperates with further
transformation of consciousness.

• Desires of the nafs give way to the desires of the heart, and finally there remains only one
desire—desire to know God

7 Levels of Nafs

1. Nafs al-jamaadi
2. Nafs-al-nabaati
3. Nafs-al-haywaani
4. Nafs al-ammarah (commanding self)
5. Nafs-al-lawwamah (regretful self)
 6. Nafs-al-molhamah (inspired self)
7. Nafs-al-motmaenah (secure self)

Nafs al-ammarah

• Though intelligent in worldly ways, generally lacks spiritual wisdom.

• Nafs-al-ammarah seeks material objects, power, and is plagued with various other ego-desires
and narcissistic tendencies.

• The nafs needs spiritual guidance to awaken to its spiritual potential from the state of sleep-like
ignorance (gheflat).

• Nafs al-ammarah undergoes a gradual process of transformation known as Fana, which means
ego-annihilation or loss of self-centered personality characteristics.

• As nafs-al-ammarah becomes modified and transformed, a new self is experienced. This is

called nafs-al-lawwama
Nafs al-lawwamah

• The spiritual heart corresponds to the regretful self (nafs al-lawwamah).

• Its function is to purify unwholesome states of mind and emotions by providing their
antidote (such as loving-kindness for anger).

• Here, self is in constant fluctuation between obedience and disobedience. • Opening of

the spiritual heart is paramount to spiritual progress as ignorance of the nafs. perpetually

generates negative energies that can darken our consciousness.

• Regret is the result of the new consciousness, which reveals the imperfections of the nafs and
the futility of its unconscious ways of being in the world.

• Many refined and mature human beings, whether Sufis or not, manifest the characteristics of
nafs-al-lawwama, both in their inner life and outward behaviour.

• Such persons are decreasingly influenced by the tendencies of nafs-al-ammarah, and

increasingly show the signs of higher emotions and subtler behaviors.

• A Sufi practitioner in the second stage, characterized by ‘abstinence’, actively avoids all forms
of inferior impulses and tendencies by observing the ethical codes of the discipline (adab) until
eventually the third stage, or ‘non-attachment’, is mastered.

• It is a priority for Sufis to awaken their spiritual heart which needs to be integrated with the
nafs. An open heart provides a loving and forgiving platform from which one can contemplate
and discover the nature of our nafs. It will facilitate the transition from nafs al-ammarah to nafs
al-lawwamah (the regretful nafs).

Abstinence in Sufism

• While abstinence is required as an initial step, it does not automatically lead to non-attachment
as the roots of craving still persist.

• Over-emphasis on abstinence may result in lopsided development, extreme asceticism and the
development of a pious self which becomes judgmental and critical of others, which further
separates one from the others.

• Sufism prescribes modesty in abstinence only with the goal of de-conditioning the nafs from
its original habits and addictions.
• As the nafs transitions to the stage of nafs al-molhamah (the inspired nafs), the heart arrives
at another more subtle station, the inner heart.

• Here, self is constantly seeking forgiveness and repentance regardless of its guilt or
innocence.

• Finally, the heart is experienced at the deepest level of consciousness, the innermost heart, as
the nafs transitions to its final station, the certain, serene and secure nafs
(nafs-al-motma’ennah)

• The final stage is characterized by joyful satisfaction and removal of all doubts.

Soul

• The human soul (ruh) is the innermost dimension of the human being and is hidden to the
immediate consciousness of the ordinary individual as our surface consciousness is dominated by
the activities of the Nafs.

• The ascent of the soul through various planes of consciousness is called transmigration or
metempsychosis (Tanaasukh).

• All of the pre-human and human layers of nafs are considered veils of the true self.

• Self-realization requires a gradual disidentification with, or unveiling of, all these conditioned
identities to reveal the innermost layer, the true Divine Self.

III) BHAGAVAD GITA

a) The Major Concepts of Hinduism

• God is present everywhere. The individual is part of God, but not himself a God

• The primary aspect of Creation is

1. Atman- Supreme Self

2. Jiva- Embodied Self

3. Prakirthi- Physical Body

b) 5 Koshas/Panchakosha

• Annamaya kosha refers to the “food” body, or the physical body that must be fed and nurtured
in the material world.
• Pranamaya kosha refers to the “energy” covering, or the vital force of breath that animates the
annamaya kosha and allows the senses to function.

• Manomaya kosha refers to the “mental” body, or the level of processing thoughts and
emotions that directly controls the energetic and physical bodies.

• Vigyanamaya kosha refers to the “wisdom” body, or the level of ego-consciousness that
judges between this and that and exercises discrimination.

• Anandamaya kosha refers to the “bliss” body, or the most subtle and interior kosha that allows
for simple being in bliss, peace, and love beyond any reason.

• Together, the five koshas cover the

Atman or Self of pure, eternal
consciousness.

c) Triple Gunas

• According to the Bhagavad Gita, the gunas (the primary qualities or modes of Nature) are three
in number : Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.

• They exist in all, including humans, in various degrees of concentration and combination.
• They also exist in all objects and natural products.

• Depending upon their relative strengths and ratios, the gunas determine the nature of
things, personality etc.
IV) YOGA
a) Introduction

• Yoga is an ancient Indian way of life which includes the practice of certain postures (asanas),
regulated breathing (pranayamas), and meditation.

• The word ‘Yoga’ has originally been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘yuj’ which means ‘to
unite’ or ‘to join’ The union of body, mind and soul.

• Yoga is not mere performing asanas but it is much deeper than that. It is a great tool to keep
oneself physically fit, mentally sound, socially adjustable, and emotionally balanced and it also
prepares ground for the spiritual development of an individual.

b) Types of Yoga

i) Hatha Yoga

• The term Hatha Yoga has been commonly used to describe the practice of asana (postures).
The syllable 'ha' denotes the pranic (vital) force governing the physical body and 'tha' denotes the
chitta (mental) force. Hatha Yoga is a catalyst to an awakening of the two energies that govern
our lives.

• More correctly the techniques described in Hatha Yoga harmonise and purify the body systems
and focus the mind

ii) Jana Yoga

• Jana in the context of yoga it means the process of meditative awareness which leads to
illuminative wisdom.
• It is not a method by which we try to find rational answers to eternal questions, rather it is a
part of meditation leading to self-enquiry and self-realization.

iii) Karma Yoga

• Karma Yoga is a path of devotion to the work. Generally some rewards or incentives or
outcomes follow the work and one is attached to this reward or incentive. Selfless involvement in
the work, which changes in mental attitude, it becomes spiritual, also the individual becomes
expert, skilled and Yogi.

iv) Bhakti Yoga

• Bhakti is a Yoga of devotion or complete faith. This faith is generally in the God or supreme
consciousness in any of the forms.

• Important thing is that the person interested in following this path should have a very
strong emotional bond with the object of faith. The flow of emotional energy is directed to
this object. Mostly people suppress their emotions and that often reflects in the form of physical
and mental disorders. This Bhakti Yoga releases those suppressed emotions and brings the
purification of inner self

v) Kundalini Yoga

• This system of Yoga is concerned with awakening of the psychic centers or chakras, which
exist in every individual.

• Specific meditation and breathing techniques are used to tap the kundalini energy and these
practices are known as Laya yoga.
vi) Swara Yoga

• Swara is Sanskrit word, meaning sound or note. It is also a continuous flow of air through
one nostril.

• Yoga means union, so Swara yoga is a science which is the realization of cosmic consciousness
through control and manipulation of breath. Swara yoga is a type of yoga that emphasize the
study, control, and manipulation of breath as a means to achieve self realization. It is related to
pranayama but broader than pranayama, which only related to breath control.

vii) Mantra Yoga

• It is also referred to as Japa Yoga, engaging the mind through focusing on sound, duration
and number of repetitions. Repetitions of mantras is a means to closer to the divinity with, and
it creates positive vibrations, moving into a more pure state of consciousness.

viii) Raja Yoga

• Raja Yoga usually refers to the system of yoga that is described in the Yoga Sutras of Sage
Patanjali.

• In this ancient text Sage Patanjali describes eight stages of yoga which are known collectively
as Raja Yoga.

8 Fold Paths

1. Yama (social disciplines)

2. Niyama (Personal Disciplines)
3. Asana (Yoga Positions or Yogic Postures)
4. Pranayama (Yogic Breathing)
5. Pratyahara (Withdrawal of Senses or Non attachment) 6. Dharana (Concentration on Object)
7. Dhyana (Meditation)
8. Samadhi (Self realization)

Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras consist of four parts. These are: 1.

Samadhipada
• Deal with definition of yoga

2. Sadhanapada

• Explain techniques to reach a higher level.

• Include 8 fold paths

3. Vibhutipada

•Describe about the supra-normal powers which can be acquired through Yoga

4. Kaivalyapada

• Describes the nature of liberation and spiritual union with the supreme soul/self

V) INTEGRAL YOGA
a) Introduction

• Integral yoga or Purna yoga, sometimes also called Supramental yoga, refers in Sri
Aurobindo's teachings to the union of all the parts of one's being with the Divine.
• Most yoga's only develop a single aspect of the being, and have as their aim a state of liberation
or transcendence.
• But the aim of integral yoga is the transformation of the entire being. Because of this, the
various elements of one's make-up - Physical, Vital, Mental, Psychic, and Spiritual, and the
means of their transformation.

• According to Sri Aurobindo, the current status of human evolution is an intermediate stage in
the evolution of being, which is on its way to the unfolding of the spirit, and the self-revelation
of divinity in all things.

• The next stage of evolution is Supramentalisation.

• Yoga is a rapid and concentrated evolution of being, which can take effect in one life-time,
while unassisted natural evolution would take many centuries or many births.

• While the West speaks of an evolution of matter, the East concentrates on the evolution of
the Spirit; while the West speaks more of a natural evolution, the East, especially Aurobindo,
speaks of spiritual evolution

• Sri Aurobindo states, “an involution of Spirit in Matter is the beginning”. The involution is the
necessary condition of evolution.

• The concentric system is a series of rings, comprising of the outer being, the inner being, and
the inmost being.

• The outer being and the inner being form our phenomenal or instrumental being; belonging to
Nature or Prakriti.

• The Purusha, the true being, is the inmost being. The Purusha comprises an inmost mental, an
inmost vital and an inmost physical.

1) Physical- Like all the faculties of the being, and in contrast to the ascetic yogas, the
Physical in all its aspects is not rejected, but has to be transformed and spiritualized
through the practice of Integral Yoga.
2) Vital- The Vital refers not only to the life force but even more so to the various desires,
emotions, compulsions, and likes and dislikes that strongly determine human motivation
and action.

• In Integral yoga it is necessary to change the vital's striving away from self-centered desires
and revolts, to make it an instrument for yoga.
3) Mental- The Mental faculty or part of the being, is the thinking and cognitive mind. Through
right attitude, understanding, and aspiration, the mind can be turned to the Divine

b) Triple Transformation
There are three basic fundamental realizations of integral yoga.

1. Psychic Transformation
2. Spiritual Transformation
3. Supramental Transformation

• This describes the process through which reality is transformed into the divine.

The process of Supramentalisation are :

• Psychicisation is one of the most essential stages of integral yoga. It refers to a spiritual
movement inward, so that one realizes the psychic being

• As a result of the Psychic transformation, light, peace, power is drawn into and descends into
the body, transforming all of its parts — physical, vital, and mental. This is the Spiritual
transformation, or Spiritualisation, which refers to the bringing down of the larger spiritual
consciousness or spiritual transformation.

• Supramentalisation is the ultimate stage in integral yoga. It refers to the bringing down of the
Supramental consciousness, and the resulting transformation of the entire being.

• The normal state of consciousness is a state of continual disquiet and agitation due to its
constant distractibility and dispersion. As the consciousness grows, one becomes more and more
aware of a deeper consciousness which is felt as a substratum of quiet and peace.

ACADEMIC PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA

Academic Psychology history is divided into:

1) Pre Independence Era

2) Post Independence Era

1. Pre-Independence Era

• 1857-1947

• The British East India Company adopted a policy of funding only European-style education
within its territories several years before the subcontinent was formally accessioned to Queen
Victoria’s empire in 1857.

• The aim of this policy was to produce a class of Indians who would be brown in color but
English in their thinking.

• The success of this policy was two-fold.

• While on the one hand the vitality of the indigenous intellectual tradition was reduced to a
great degree, Indian intelligentsia became exposed to European thought and modern
science. Education in colleges and universities was modeled after Oxford and Cambridge.

• One of the many well-known pairs of teacher and disciple (Guru - Shishya) in the modern times
was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and his disciple Swami Vivekananda.
• He is widely recognized as the first Indian monk whose lecture at the world conference on
religions in Chicago in 1883 became a landmark in introducing Indian thought in the USA.

• The importance of his work for psychology follows from the fact that the Swami made a deep
impact on William James and his ideas about the higher states of consciousness.

• Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, who was then the head of the University of Calcutta decided to
include “Experimental psychology” in the post graduate course of studies of Calcutta university.

• Dr. Brojendra Nath Seal, king George V ,professor of mental and moral philosophy of the
Calcutta university ,Drafted syllabus in 1905 and established the first laboratory for
demonstrative purpose, on the request of Sir Asutosh Mukahejee.

• Modern psychology was introduced at Calcutta University with the starting of a separate
department of psychology in 1916.

• During this time Indian psychologists trained abroad as well as those trained in India almost
exclusively followed the Western brands of psychology.

• In 1922 Girindra Shekar Bose , who had a close contact with Freud , founded the Indian
psychoanalytic Society, which 2 years later was affiliated with the international psychoanalytic
society. Bose received his PhD from Calcutta on ‘ concept of repression’, the first PhD from an
Indian university.

• He established the Lumbini Park Mental Hospital in Calcutta in 1940, and in 1947 brought
out a journal 'Samiksha'.

• Narendra Nath Sengupta, who chaired Psychology department, had his education at Harvard
University with Hugo Munsterberg, a student of William Wundt

• Laboratory research at Calcutta in the areas of depth perception, psychophysics, and

attention.

• Recognizing the scientific nature of research , psychology was included as a separate section in
the Indian science congress in 1923.

• Indian psychology association and first psychology journal in India was founded in 1925.

• The Calcutta university Department started an Applied Psychology Wing in 1938, when Jung,
Meyers, and Spearman were invited to the Silver Jubilee Session of the Indian Science Congress.

• Prior to India's Independence from British rule, other departments were established at Mysore
and Patna.
• M.V. Gopalswami who headed the Department at Mysore (1924) was trained at London
University with Spearman in the mental testing tradition.

• The Department at Patna began in 1946. The specializations were Vocational guidance and
counselling.

2. Post Independence Era

• After gaining independence from British rule, psychology witnessed an explosive growth in
India with departments of Psychology.

• There was a similar explosion in the number of research publications in Indian as well as
international journals.

• But there is growing concern with applicability of western theories and their mindless testing in
India.

• Western psychological theories and research were not effective in understanding the Indian
social reality.

• A remarkable effort was made by Pande and Naidu (1992) to empirically examine a set of
propositions from the theory of acting without attachment to results of one’s action
described in the Bhagavad-Gītā. Then, they developed and validated a measure for an attitude
of nonattachment, and correlated the strength of such an attitude with various indices of mental
health.

• Psychology department in NIMHANS was started in 1954.

• The Indian council of social science research (ICCSR) established in 1968, monitored the
status of research in psychology in India.

• Indian Psychology Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP) was started in 1968.

- Lack of distinct disciplinary identity

• In the West, psychology had moved away from theology and philosophy. Indian psychologists
thought that by applying western psychology there was an opportunity of developing a secular
identity distinct from that of religion and philosophy; it does not work in india.

• Moreover, due to the neglect of many centuries, Indian psychology, there were no new
concepts, theories and methods in Indian psychology applicable to the changing individual and
social order.
• Indian psychologists before and soon after independence live in two different worlds.
• In India, notions like rebirth, transmigration of souls, and supernatural powers. Purely empirical
science was difficult as an Indian to accept during that time.

• As a result, a psychologist in his/her role as a scientist conducts the professional activities with
one set of assumptions and beliefs and as a person lives and acts with another set of assumptions
and beliefs among fellow humans.

• Indian culture and society was totally unfamiliar to the colonial officials when first arrived. The
unique systems of caste, religion, tribal and rural communities, rituals, beliefs, traditions were all
new to an Englishman. Even though there was a need for research in those topics, as a lack of
knowledge existed, the field of psychology was not focused by colonial rule as sociology and
anthropology.

• After independence, in most universities, Psychology departments were established by splitting

the departments of Philosophy.

• As a result, a large number of philosophy faculty moved to the newly formed psychology
departments; many who opted for psychology were those who saw better career opportunities in
the new departments.

• This movement from philosophy to psychology was so pervasive that by the end of the 1960s
a majority of chairmen in psychology departments had a philosophy background.

• In normal course this could have given a strong philosophical knowledge base to
psychology, making it richer in terms of indigenous concepts and theories.

• But this did not happen. In their enthusiasm to establish a new identity as scientists, these
faculty members with a background in philosophy completely dissociated themselves from their
parent discipline and conducted culture neutral research.

- A crisis of identity

• When analyzing the research published in 1970 and 1980’s, it shows that psychology in India is
mostly a poor imitation of Western research and does not lead to understanding the problems that
exist in Indian society.

• K.G Agarwal in 1973 called psychology in India as “Adoptology”.

• Nandy (1974) argued, "Indian psychology has become not merely imitative and subservient but
also dull and replicative“.

• The mindless testing of western theories lead to its applicability questionable.

• As a result, Indian psychologists were marginalized.

 - 1970’s : Socially Relevant Psychology

• The need to focus more on socially relevant research gained more attention.

• Many domains of social psychological processes showed that many of the phenomena reported
in Western research literature required different explanations rooted in the Indian cultural milieu.

• The change took place when psychologists found the applications of Western
theories/methods to be either ineffective or irrelevant in real life situations in India.

• The studies emerged during 1970’s are:

1. Paranjpes(1970) wrote a book called “Caste prejudice and

Individual”. 2. Rath and Sircar(1960), and Anant(1970) studied

stereotypes.

• As an aftermath thousands were killed in Hindu-Muslim riots, followed by a massive influx of

refugees from across the border. Many psychological studies of that period evidenced this
concern in the rioting behaviour of the masses.

• Realizing the urgent need of research in this area, the Ministry of Education procured the
services of Gardner Murphy through UNESCO in 1950 to develop a research programme to
investigate the causes of communal violence.

• Many Indian psychologists collaborated on this project which culminated in the book edited by
Murphy in 1953 entitled 'In the Minds of Men‘.

• A new development after Independence was the growth of psychology outside the university
system.

• The Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA) was established in

1950, where Kamla Chowdhury conducted large-scale surveys to study motivational problems
in the textile industries.

• Indian armed forces also showed interest in using psychological tests in personnel selection.

• For this, the Psychological Research Wing of the Defense Science Organization was set up in
1949.

• This Wing today is known as the Defense Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR),
employing a large number of psychologists.
- A Journey Towards Indigenous Psychology

• The core of indigenization is that all knowledge is rooted in the prevalent world view of a
community and is conditioned by historical and socio-cultural factors.
• D.Sinha (1994) discussed the details of indigenization of psychology in India. He refer 2 facets
of Indigenization:

1. First is purely the product of culture, concepts and categories which are culture-bound. It
is called Endogenous indigenization.

2. Second is the product of interaction of cultural variables with concepts, theories and methods
introduced from outside. This is Exogenous indigenization.

• The Canadian psychologist John Adair, saw indigenization as a gradual process, and in
collaboration with his Indian colleagues, developed a scale to measure the degree of
indigenization.

• Adair (1989) defined indigenization in terms of;

1. Cultural sensitivity of research in designing a study and discussing its findings.

2. Citation from one's own culture
3. Problem orientation
4. Development of culture-based concepts, theories and methods
5. Culturally anchored tests
6. Cross-cultural comparisons.

• There was cross cultural testing of psychological concepts and theories. It came as a result
of the indigenization process.

• This was not fruitful during earlier times as cross cultural work only led to testing of
western theories on Indian samples.

• Very rarely studies originated from Indian society or tested Indian concepts in other cultures.

• The other kind of indigenization is based on systematic analysis of culture-bound concepts and
categories. This focus on contemporary relevance of cultural heritage and native theories and
termed it as “Indian Psychology”.

• Indian psychology has developed around the existential quest to overcome human suffering
and in the process to raise the person to higher levels of awareness and achievement.

• Indian psychology endeavors not only provide an understanding of the nature of a person, the
causes and consequences of his/her conduct, but also explore the methods and means of
transforming the person in pursuit of perfection in being, certainty in knowing and happiness in
feeling.

• Indian psychology focuses on the inner- self which is accessible through subjective methods of
self verification.
• Five factors have contributed to this change of attitudes and perceptions of Indian Psychology:

1. The failure of western psychology to deal with their own social problems. 2. The
growing popularity of yoga and other spiritual system of Indian the west. Sri
Aurobindo and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have become popular. Mahesh yogi’s
transcendental meditation went through rigorous experimental testing at Harvard and
many other universities.
3. The secular nature of Indian psychology. It is gradually acknowledged that Indian
Psychology of consciousness has more to offer in terms of self growth than as religious
traditions.
4. India is the major emerging economic power in the world. There is renewed interest
in Indian values, philosophies and practices as well as strength and resilience of
Indian society.
5. Indian psychology deals with the perennial issues of human existence which are not
bound by any geographical region or time period.

- Reason for Retarded growth of Indian Psychology

1. Lack of a supportive intellectual climate., poor professional support and inadequate
research productivity.
2. Inherent limitations in psychology as a scientific discipline. Its excessive conformity to
empiricist – positivist methodologies and confining to micro-level problems have
restricted the scope of its psycho-social inquiry.
3. The personal and professional background of an Indian psychologist.

HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY (WESTERN)

a) Introduction

• Since the dawn of civilization and the establishment of the earliest religions and spiritual
beliefs, various priests, shamans and spiritual leaders have been responsible for the mental
wellbeing of their people.
• If we define psychology as a formal study of the mind and a more systematic approach to
understanding and curing mental conditions, then the Ancient Greeks were certainly leading
proponents.

• The ancient Greek philosophers/psychologists regarded three elements to be the basic

ingredients of all matter including humans.
These three elements were:

1. Water
2. Air
3. Fire
• The ancient Greek philosophers also put forward the view that contradiction is a permanent
element in the world and because of it the world is influx all the time. This means that every time
a phenomenon arises there is a counter explanation to the phenomenon.

• Thus a contradiction in explanation arises which leads to further investigation and further
phenomenon and counter phenomenon. When this process continues over a long period of time,
we find the world to be in a constant influx.

• One of the greatest developments of the Ancient Greek philosophers was that they put forward
the view that everything consists of small indivisible particles and these particles act upon the
soul to create sensations. This was later found to be true with the discovery of atoms.

1. HIPPOCRATES

• “Father of Medicine”

• He postulated a theory of “humors” that accounts for the basic human activity. He believed that
perfect health is the result of the proportionate mixture of these humors.

• He believed that four temperaments form personality: Sanguine- Blood (Cheerful and Active)
Melancholic- Black Bile (Sad)
Choleric – Yellow Bile (Angry and Aggressive) Phlegmatic- Phelgm (Calm and Passive)

2. SOCRATES

• Socrates said that truth resides in the mind and one has to look for and find it there. It means
that in order to gain knowledge and understand various phenomena one has to look inwards
instead of looking at the outward things and trying to find an explanation in them.

• Socrates stressed on the study of soul i.e. looking inwards, and he rejected external
observation.
• Socrates believed the key to happiness was self-knowledge, which can only be found when a
person searches for the objective truth.

• Socratic method of teaching - It is also the modern method of teaching and it consists of a
dialogue, rather than monologue and focuses on the logical correctness of the argument.

• The teacher and the student interact with each other and have an intelligent dialogue that helps
them to understand and comprehend better

3. PLATO

• Student of Socrates

• Plato also agrees with Socrates' view that knowledge is innate and inside the mind. In order
to extract knowledge one needs to look into the mind rather than looking at external objects.

• Later this idea was known as the Introspection Method.

• Plato is against the idea of Empiricism.

• Plato explained personality in terms of Intellect, Will, Appetite.

• Intellect is the ability to understand Will is the drive to do something. Appetite deals with
bodily needs.

4. ARISTOTLE

• Aristotle was a student of Plato.

• Rejected the idea of Dualism and put forward that mind and body work in union.

• Aristotle view that ideas in the human beings tend to become associated with each other and
there are three reasons for the association of ideas which he gave:

1) Similarity
2) Contiguity
3) Contrast

1.Similarity

Similarity means that the mind tends to see certain similar patterns between two things and
relates them together

2. Contiguity
Contiguity refers to two things or events happening close to each other so that the person is able
to relate them to each other.

3. Contrast

Contrast means that two events or ideas are completely opposing to each other, which results in
the formation of a link between the two.

• Aristotle rejected his teacher Plato’s views on introspection and said that true knowledge
can be gained through observation and empiricism.

• Aristotle also described two types of human motives.

1. Primary motives are basic motives which are the desires of all human beings and are
mostly bodily desires such as hunger, sex, thirst, anger and need for rest.
2. Secondary motives are those motives which are learnt by organisms and these become
habits of the individuals
• Aristotle wrote a book called De Anima which means ―the Soul

5. RENE DESCARTES

• The French philosopher René Descartes argued that the natures of mind and body are
completely different from one another and that each could exist by itself.

• He believed that the single function of mind was thought (reason)--a very Socratic notion. All
else, perception, feeling, emotion, movement, etc., were functions of the body.

• This mind-body dualism was a well-accepted doctrine long before Descartes. However, as the
philosophers had long believed, mind and body are separate entities with different qualities and
functions, but the relationship between mind and body was not explored.

• Through the pineal gland, the mind controls the body. Decartes said that this gland is the
principal seat of the soul, and the place in which all our thoughts are formed.

• Socrates believed that the mind can control the body but not vice versa.

6. JOHN LOCKE

• He gave the concept of “Tabula Rasa”; People are born in this world with empty minds
i.e.”Tabula Rasa” or a blank slate.

SCHOOL OF THOUGHT
I) STRUCTURALISM

• The school of thought that focused upon the study of mind and conscious experience:
consciousness, thinking, and emotions.

• They used introspection as their method of study.

• Focused upon the structure and operations of the mind rather than studying whole things and
phenomena. Hence named as Structuralism.

• Emerged from the work of Wilhelm Wundt who set up the first psychology laboratory at
Leipzig, Germany, in 1879 to study the “building blocks of the mind”, and is generally known
as the founder of “scientific psychology”.

• Wund felt that the study of mind must be a science of experience. He supported the existence of
the science of psychology quite independent of biology and physiology.

• Wund believed that psychology must have an experimental side. According to Wundt, the
subject matter of psychology is to be immediate experience.

• At Wundt’s Laboratory; Studies and experiments were conducted on the fundamental elements
that form the foundation of thinking, consciousness, emotions and other mental states
Systematic, organized and objective procedures were used so that replication was possible

• The procedure used for studying the “structure of mind” was called “Introspection”; a
method used to study the structure of the mind, in which subjects were asked to describe in detail
what they were experiencing when exposed to a stimulus

EDWARD BRADFORD TICHENER

• He believed that we can study perception, emotions and ideas through introspection, by
reducing them to their elementary parts.

• Ideas and images are related: ideas are always accompanied by images.

Problem of structuralism was:

1. It was Reductionist
2. It reduced all complex human experience to simple sensations
3. The structuralists sought to look at individual elements first, and then combine parts into
a whole, rather than study the variety of behavior directly.
4. Structuralism studied only verbal reports of human conscious experience and awareness,
ignoring the study of subjects who could not report their introspection
II) FUNCTIONALISM

● This focus on the functions of mental activity, and the role of behavior in allowing
people to adapt to their environments.
● It emerged as a reaction to Structuralism.
● Founded by William James, also known as the founder of American Psychology. ●
Emphasized “function” rather than “Structure” of human consciousness i.e., what the
mind does
● Focused upon the way humans adapt to their environment; what roles behavior played in
allowing people to better adapt to their environment.

WILLIAM JAMES

• He was the leading precursor of functionalist psychology. James was a Harvard University
professor, primarily trained in physiology and medicine.

• In 1875 he offered his first course in psychology.

• In 1890 he published “Principles of Psychology”

• Acts and functions of mental processes need to be focused upon, rather than contents of the
mind.
• Consciousness was an ongoing streams, it was in continual interaction with the environment

JOHN DEWEY

• One of the key founders of “Functionalism”.

• Stimulus– Response phenomenon is not an automatic behavior, the goal of the person
performing, it has the main role in it; the stimulus and the response determine each other

• It is the function, or the goal, of the whole action that elicits response

• Dewey developed the field of ‘School Psychology’ and recommended ways for meeting
student’s needs.

• His paper "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology", published in 1896, is regarded as the
first major work in the (Chicago) functionalist school of psychology.

JAMES ROWLAND ANGELL

• Founded the psychology department in Chicago, the most influential of its time.
• Believed that the function of consciousness is to improve the adaptive abilities of the organism
and that psychology must study how the mind did these kinds of adjustments with respect to the
environment.

III) GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

• An approach that focuses on the organization of perception and thinking in a ‘‘whole” sense
rather than on the individual elements of perception.

• The word gestalt means “Configuration”.

• This school developed as a reaction to structuralism in the early 1900s.

• In contrast to the structuralist approach of breaking down conscious experience into

elements, or focusing upon the structure, the Gestalt school emphasized the significance of
studying any phenomenon in its overall form.

• The main concept that the Gestalts posed was that the “WHOLE” is more than the sum of its
parts.

• Any phenomenon in its entirety may be much greater than when it is seen in a disintegrated
form.

MAX WERTHEIMER

• The founder of Gestalt Psychology

• Studying at the University of Frankfurt he became aware of a form of apparent motion that was
called “Phi phenomenon”.

• Phi phenomenon is an optical illusion in which stationary objects shown in rapid

succession, transcending the threshold at which they can be perceived separately, appear to
move.

• We perceive experiences in a way that calls for the simplest explanation, even though reality
may be entirely different

Gestalt Laws of Organization

• We organize our experiences according to certain rules, in a simple way:

- Proximity

Close or nearer objects are perceived as coherent and related.

- Similarity
Tendency to perceive objects, patterns or stimuli as groups, which are similar in
appearance__ parts of the visual field that are similar in color, lightness, texture, shape, or
any other quality

- Good Continuation

Tendency to group the stimuli into smooth and continuous patterns or parts.

- Closure

It is the perceptual tendency to fill in the gaps and completing the contours; enables us to
perceive the disconnected parts as the whole object.

- Common region

It is highly related to proximity. It

states that when objects are located
within the same closed region, we
perceive them as being grouped
together.
KURT KOFFKA

● Wrote the famous “Principles of Gestalt Psychology” (1935).

● Talked about geographical versus behavioral environment: people’s behavior is
determined by how they perceive the environment rather than by the nature of the
environment.

WOLFGANG KOHLER
● Gave the concept of “insight as a result of his observations of a caged chimpanzee in a
problem solving scenario”
● Insight = spontaneous restructuring of the situation
● Kohler also talked about Isomorphism.
● Isomorphism refers to a correspondence between a stimulus array and the brain state
created by that stimulus, and is based on the idea that the objective brain processes
underlying and correlated with particular phenomenological experiences functionally
have the same form and structure as those subjective experiences.

IV) PSYCHOANALYSIS

• Sigmund Freud is the founder of psychoanalysis.

• Psychodynamic psychology is an approach to understanding human behaviour that focuses on

the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories.

• Freud developed his theories about behavior through extensive analysis of the patients that he
treated in his private clinical practice.

• Freud believed that many of the problems that his patients experienced, including anxiety,
depression, and sexual dysfunction, were the result of the effects of painful childhood
experiences that they could no longer remember

• In Freud’s view, the unconscious mind was a repository of feelings and urges of which we
have no awareness.

• Gaining access to the unconscious, then, was crucial to the successful resolution of the
patient’s problems.

• According to Freud, the unconscious mind could be accessed through dream analysis, by
examinations of the first words that came to people’s minds, and through seemingly innocent
slips of the tongue.

• Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood
experiences, and this particular perspective dominated clinical psychology for several decades.

Freud’s Structural Model Of Personality

• Freud divides the personality into three parts—the id, the ego, and the superego. • The id is

the unconscious part that is the cauldron of raw drives, such as for sex or aggression.

• The ego, which has conscious and unconscious elements, is the rational and reasonable part of
personality.
• The superego is a person’s conscience, which develops early in life and is learned from
parents, teachers, and others.
 •
Freud’s ideas were extended by other psychologists whom he influenced, including Carl Jung
(Analalytical Psychology), Alfred Adler (Individual Psychology), Karen Horney and Erik
Erikson.

V) BEHAVIOURISM

• The psychological model that focuses on the overt, observable, behavior.

• The model grew out of the rejection of psychology’s early emphasis on the inner working of the
mind, suggesting instead that observable behavior should be the focus of the field.

• John B. Watson was the first person that advocated the behavioral approach.

• This is a psychological approach that considers the relationship between behavior and
environmental stimuli as the focus of study; observable behavior is what psychology should
be studying, understanding, and explaining.

• This approach dominated psychology for most of the 20th century

EDWARD L THORNDIKE

• Edward L.Thorndike, was an American psychologist, who’s thinking is thoroughly

associationistic.

• According to him, psychology is about the stimulus- response connections. He was of the view
that behaviour can be analyzed into associations.

• He said that the behavioural processes are quantifiable.

• Believed that behaviour was explicable on the basis of nothing but stimulus-response
connections inherited and acquired.

• Main finding: The consequence of any response determines if the response will be repeated in
future or not: “The Law of Effect”

JOHN B WATSON

• Father of behaviorism

• Initially trained in introspection

• Watson is known for the Little Albert experiment, in which he demonstrated that a child
could be conditioned to fear a previously neutral stimulus.

• He and his followers believed and advocated that psychology should depart from the study of
unconscious and the mind because they could not be verified or tested scientifically

• Observable behavior is all that psychology should be looking at.

VI) HUMANISM

• Faced with a choice between psychoanalysis and behaviorism, many psychologists in the 1950s
and 1960s sensed a void in psychology’s conception of human nature.

• Freud had drawn attention to the darker forces of the unconscious, and Skinner was interested
only in the effects of reinforcement on observable behavior.

• Humanistic psychology emerged out of a desire to understand the conscious mind, free will,
human dignity, and the capacity for self-reflection and growth.

• An alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanistic psychology became known as

“the third force.”

• Humanistic approach emphasizes:

- Individual’s freedom in directing his future • Capacity for personal growth -

Intrinsic worth
- Potential for self-fulfillment

CARL ROGERS

● The theory emphasizes on a single factor “force of life” which he calls the actualizing
tendency i.e.built-in motivation present in every life form to develop its potentials to the
fullest extent possible.
● Rogers had the person-centered approach since the ‘person’ was the main figure of
importance.
● He believed that the most powerful human drive is the one to become “fully functioning”.
 ● Fully functioning = a person becomes all that he or she is capable of.

Main Concepts

• Real Self: a fluid perceptual structure based on one’s experience of one‘s own being

• Ideal self: an Individual’s goals and aspirations

• Phenomenal field: an Individual’s unique perception of the world

• Actualizing tendency: an innate drive reflecting the desire to grow, to develop, and to enhance
one’s capacities.

• Need for positive regard: a need for positive social contacts like love,

• Conditions of worth: restrictions imposed on self –expression in order to earn positive

regard. ABRAHAM MASLOW

• American psychologist, and leading exponent of humanistic approach.

• Gave a comprehensive theory of motivation.

• Psychology and the psychologist should look at the positive side of human beings.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

● It is a stage theory.
● The needs at one level have to be met in order for one to move on to higher order. ●
The needs at the lowest/primary/base level are the physiological needs, whereas the
highest order needs are the self-actualization needs.
● Self-Actualization: Most advanced human need based on the desire to grow and utilize
one’s potential up to the optimal level

VII) EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY

• A system in psychology focused on the belief that the essence of humans is their existence.

• Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard is commonly referred to as the "Father of

Existentialism”

• For the therapist, therapy is a process in which they, too, are participating.

• Rollo May, the American psychologist who would become one of the existential movement's
biggest proponents, attributed the introduction of the existentialist idea in the United States.
• Viktor Frankl introduced existentialism to the world through their writings and lectures.
• Frankl had survived internment at the Nazi death camp.

VIII) COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

• Cognition, a term used to describe all the mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, and
using knowledge.

• The processes include perception, memory, thinking, problem solving, imagining, and
language.

• This shift in emphasis toward cognition had such a profound influence on psychology that it
has often been called the cognitive revolution,

• One reason for psychologists’ renewed interest in mental processes was the invention of the
computer, which provided an intriguing metaphor for the human mind.

• The hardware of the computer was likened to the brain, and computer programs provided a
step-by-step model of how information from the environment is put in, stored, and retrieved to
produce a response.

• Based on the computer metaphor, psychologists began to formulate information- processing

models of human thought and behaviour.

• The pioneering work of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget also inspired psychologists to study
cognition.

• During the 1920s, while administering intelligence tests in schools, Piaget became interested in
how children think.

• He designed various tasks and interview questions to reveal how children of different ages
reason about time, nature, numbers, causality, morality, and other concepts.

• Based on his many studies, Piaget theorized that from infancy to adolescence, children advance
through a predictable series of cognitive stages.

• The cognitive revolution also gained momentum from developments in the study of language.
Behaviorist B. F. Skinner had claimed that language is acquired according to the laws of operant
conditioning, in much the same way that rats learn to press a bar for food pellets.

• In 1959, however, American linguist Noam Chomsky charged that Skinner's account of
language development was wrong. Chomsky noted that children all over the world start to speak
at roughly the same age and proceed through roughly the same stages without being explicitly
taught or rewarded for the effort.

• According to Chomsky, the human capacity for learning language is innate.

IX) TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Transpersonal psychology is a field or school of thought in psychology centered on the

spiritual aspects of human life.

• The term transpersonal psychology was first introduced in the 1960s by psychologists such as
Abraham Maslow and Victor Frankl.

• Transpersonal psychology is a label for a type of psychological theory that embraces a wide
variety of ideas that have nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the mind and
behavior. Transpersonal psychology looks at the whole human experience.

• "Transpersonal psychologists attempt to integrate timeless wisdom with modern Western

psychology and translate spiritual principles into scientifically grounded, contemporary
language.

• Transpersonal therapists use meditation, guided visualization, Hypnotherapy, dream work, art ,
music, journaling, mindfulness practices,And other techniques that can help you explore your
spiritual self and create meaning in your life.

X) MULTICULTURALISM

● Diversity is the central concern of almost all social, political and cultural theories.
● The common argument of them is that thinking, perception, action and adjunction
differs from culture to culture and society to society.
● It refers to situations in which people who hold ‘different 'habits, customs, traditions,
languages and/or religion live alongside each other in the same social space, willing to
maintain relevant aspects of their own difference and to have it publicly recognized. ●
Usually the term involves a positive evaluation of cultural diversity.
● Recognizing the reality of multiculturalism, multicultural theory seeks to promote just
and culturally sensitive treatment and approaches to health and wellness, beyond a
universal perspective.
Four founding paths of Psychology

i) WILHELM WUNDT

• Psychology had finally ceased to be a merely speculative science and was gradually
becoming an experimental science based on facts and logical conclusions which were drawn
through carefully conducted experiments and profound observations.

• But most of the credit goes to Wilhelm Wundt who recognized that psychologists must adopt
a scientific outlook and adopt experimentation as the methodology, if psychology is to
expand and flourish.

• Events like the French revolution and the Industrial revolution had changed the outlook of man
• Man had become more logical in his approach and tried to find reasons for everything.

• Therefore, based on these grounds, Wundt based on his proposition that since speculation could
not be the mode of scientific investigation any more; therefore, psychology also has to adopt the
new mode of investigation if it has to become a science.

• Wilhelm Wundt is known for establishing the first psychology laboratory at Leipzig,
Germany, in the year 1879.

• This was one of the greatest leaps in the transition of speculative outlook to the scientific
outlook, facilitated by Wundt.

• Wundt defined psychology as the study of consciousness.

• He further argued that if consciousness exists, which actually does, then it must have a
structure.

• According to Wundt, consciousness could be studied by three things:

1) Experimentation:

Experimentation was the most important mode of scientific investigation which according to
Wundt was the need of hour for psychology to develop. Psychologists therefore needed to
conduct experiments which revealed the true nature of consciousness.

2) Introspection:

Although Wundt believed that psychologists should adopt a scientific outlook, he did not reject
introspection as a method of gaining knowledge, because he regarded introspection as a means of
looking into and understanding the structure of consciousness.
3) Looking at the past history of man that has shaped his consciousness: Another method
of studying the structure of consciousness is by looking at the past history of man.

• Wundt himself also conducted some experiments and based upon them he proposed that
consciousness is a process which has three compartments:

- Ideas
- Feelings
- Emotions

ii) WILLIAM JAMES

• James is considered founder of thinking called functionalism

• The basic question that was raised by James when he purported his theory was that “what is
the purpose of consciousness?”
• Therefore unlike the Structuralists who emphasized on explaining the structure and the parts of
consciousness, James came up with a completely new point of view. He focused on why we
need consciousness.

• This need is the function that the consciousness performs, therefore his theories focused on
explanation of the functions of consciousness.

• Consciousness needs to be studied and understood in order to explain its functions. Explaining
the function of consciousness, James put forward the view that consciousness creates
adjustment between the organism and the environment.

• This means that the organism needs to adjust and adapt its environment in order to survive.

• This adaptation process is carried out with the help of consciousness. Consciousness helps
the organism to understand the environment and cope with the changes in it.

• James was also of the view that not just consciousness but all human psychological functions
have a definite purpose. For example, fear in an animal creates movement in the body; laughter
reduces tension etc.

• His book- Principles of Psychology

iii) SIGMUND FREUD

Structure of personality

1) Id

• The Id is the irrational and emotional part of the mind.

• At birth a baby‘s mind is all Id ; want, want, want.

• The Id is the primitive mind. It contains all the basic needs and feelings. • And it

has only one rule: the pleasure principle: “I want it and I want it all now”. 2) Ego

• The Ego functions with the rational part of the mind.

• The Ego develops out of growing awareness that you can‘t always get what you want.

• The Ego relates to the real world and operates via the reality principle.

• The Ego realizes the need for compromise and negotiates between the Id and the
Superego.

• The Ego's job is to get the Id's pleasures but to be reasonable and bear the long- term
consequences in mind.
• The Ego denies both instant gratification and pious delaying of gratification.

3) Super Ego
• The Superego is the last part of the mind to develop. • It might be called the moral part of the
mind.

• The Superego becomes an embodiment of parental and societal

values. • It stores and enforces rules.

• The Superego has two subsystems: Ego Ideal and Conscience

• Ego ideal is basically what the child‘s parents approve of or value.

• Conscience is the rules about what constitutes bad behavior.

• The Conscience is basically all those things that the child feels his or her parents will
disapprove or punish

• He developed the theory of interpretation of dreams.

• He explained dream work in terms of: Manifest Contents; Latent Content

• Sigmund Freud formulated a theory of defense mechanisms.

• This includes denial, repression, regression and projection.

iv) WILHELM DILTHEY

• Wilhelm Dilthey was a German historian, psychologist, sociologist, and hermeneutic

philosopher.

• The school of Romantic hermeneutics stressed that historically embedded interpreters —use
'understanding' and 'interpretation', which combine individual-psychological and
social-historical description and analysis, to gain a greater knowledge of texts and authors
in their contexts.

• Dilthey saw its relevance for the human sciences in contrast with the natural sciences.

• A man cannot understand himself through reflection or introspection, but only through what
“history can tell him...never in objective concepts but always only in the living experience which
springs up out of the depths of his own being.”

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF KNOWLEDGE PARADIGMS

WHAT IS PARADIGM?
• A paradigm is “a philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline
within which theories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments performed in support of
them are formulated.”

• As applied in the context of research, a research paradigm is a worldview or philosophical

framework, including ideas, beliefs, and biases, that guides the research process.

• The research paradigm in which a study is situated helps determine the manner in which the
research will be conducted.

• A research paradigm provide general framework for conducting research

1. ONTOLOGY

• Ontology is that part of philosophy which deals with questions about the nature of what
exists, and how different aspects of being are related to each other.

• It helps you to conceptualize the form and nature of reality and what you believe can be known
about reality.

• Based on our
existence, our
view of
reality...how we
gather
knowledge is
the major focus
of ontology.

2.
EPISTOMOLOGY

• It focus on how we gather knowledge

• Epistemology is concerned about the very basis of knowledge, its nature, form and also how
it can be communicated to others.

• The two extremes of epistemology is

1) Objectivity :
- It focus on experimentation
- Objective observation required
- There is no relation between researcher and topic of study

2) Subjectivity:

- It focuses on interviews, case study etc.

- Studies subjective opinion of participants.
- Constructive aspect of knowledge
- There is a relation between researcher and subject studied.

3. METHODOLOGY

• Methodology is a logical, systematic plan to resolve a research problem.

• A methodology details a researcher's approach to the research to ensure reliable, valid results
that address their
aims and objectives.

• It encompasses
what data they're
going to collect
and where from,
as well as how it's
being collected
and analyzed.
 4. AXIOLOGY

• Axiology refers to the ethical issues that need to be considered when planning a research
proposal.
• It involves defining, evaluating and understanding concepts of right and wrong behavior
relating to research.

PARADIGM OF WESTERN PSYCHOLOGY

POSITIVISM

• The word positivism was coined by French philosopher Auguste Compte.

• For Compte, positivism was the modern scientific outlook that was in the process of
replacing previously dominant supernatural ways of thinking about the world.

• However, a more comprehensive version of positivism for 20th century social science was,
‘Logical Positivism’ or ‘Logical Empiricism’. This became a prime or only model for inquiry
and knowledge.

POST POSITIVISM

• Post positivism rejects the positivist approach that a researcher can be an independent
observer of the social world.

• Post-positivist paradigm accepts that reality is imperfect and that truth is not absolute.

• It allows observation without experimentation.

• Post positivists argue that the ideas, and even the particular identity, of a researcher influences
what they observe and therefore impacts upon what they conclude.
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Unlike the positivist paradigm, the critical paradigm posits that social science can never be
truly objective or value-free.

• Further, this paradigm operates from the perspective that scientific investigation should be
conducted with the express goal of social change in mind.

• Research projects aim to foster positive change in the research participants and the systems
being studied as well as collect important data.

• The critical paradigm not only studies power imbalances but also seeks to change them.

• The aim of the ‘critical’ paradigm is to smash myths & empower people to change society
and thus Advocacy and Activism become its key concepts.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM

• The social constructionist framework posits that “truth” is a varying, socially constructed,
and ever-changing notion.

• This is because we, according to this paradigm, create reality ourselves (as opposed to it simply
existing and us working to discover it) through our interactions and our interpretations of those
interactions.

• Key to the social constructionist perspective is the idea that social context and interaction
frame our realities.

• Researchers operating within this framework take keen interest in how people come to socially
agree, or disagree, about what is real and true.
EXISTENTIAL PHENOMENOLOGY

• Phenomenology insists that we must lay aside our prevailing understanding of phenomena and
revisit our immediate experience of them in order that new meanings may emerge.

• The key is gaining the subjective experience of the subject, sometimes by trying to put oneself
in the place of the subject.

CO-OPERATIVE ENQUIRY

• Cooperative inquiry, also known as collaborative inquiry, is a form of action research that was
first proposed by John Heron in 1971.
• It emphasizes that all active participants are fully involved in research decisions as
co-researchers.

Significant Indian paradigms on Psychological knowledge

Two major planes of reality:

1. Transcendental reality (parmarthika) is considered to be non- changing and universal.

It can be experienced in this life under certain conditions like samadhi. Can be
approximately termed as the spiritual realm.
2. Empirical reality (vyavaharika) is that which is apprehended through the sense
modalities can be approximately understood as the material realm (which includes all
physio-psychosocial aspects of mundane existence).

SCIENCE AND SPRITUALITY (Vidya and Avidya)

1) Empirical Knowledge (Apara Vidya)

• Empirical knowledge deal with ordinary world

2) Spiritual Knowledge (Para Vidya)

• Concerned with the experience of universal reality.

• Vedic concept of knowledge is something entirely different from the scientific concept of
knowledge.

• The ancients were aware of the more mundane type of knowledge, but they were less
exclusively interested in it than modern science.

1) Vidya

• The higher knowledge of the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Self.
• Spiritual knowledge arises from the contact with the Self in a deeper state of self absorption, at
the end of a long spiritual journey and self-purification.

2) Avidya

• Avidya is fundamental blindness about reality.

• This ignorance is due to inability to experience deep connection to others.

• Behind all confusion and attachment, it is due to the failure to recognize self or higher level of
knowledge.

PRIMACY OF SELF IN INDIAN PSYCHOLOGY

• Aspects of Self Knowledge

• According to Indian tradition “a perfect knowledge of oneself automatically gives in principle

the possibility of perfect knowledge of everything else”

The self knowledge is governed by three aspects

1. Cognitive self
• It is referred as known self
• Include physiological and psychological properties.

2. Affective Self
• It is also known as felt self
• Refers to emotional components of felt knowledge

3. Executive Self
• It is also known as active self
• It refers to the behavioral component of self knowledge.