Psychology As A Discipline - Definition and Goals
Psychology As A Discipline - Definition and Goals
Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It encompasses the biological influences, social pressures, and environmental factors that affect how people think, act, and feel. Psychology is defined as a science which studies mental processes, experiences and behavior in different contexts.
In doing so, it uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain data systematically.
It makes sense of the data so that it can be organized as knowledge.
• Mental process:
(i) Mental processes are activities of the mind and brain, related to cognition.
(ii) We use mental processes when we think or remember something, or solve a problem.
(iii) However, these mental activities are different from neural activities, though they are mutually overlapping processes.
(iv) The mind emerges and evolves as our interactions and experiences in this world get dynamically organized in the form of a system which is responsible for the occurrence of various mental processes.
(v) Mental processes include reasoning, learning, thinking, problem
solving, perception, etc.
• Experiences:
Experiences can be defined as the learning acquired through everyday life situation.
(1) Experiences are subjective in nature, different for every individual.
(ii) We cannot directly observe or know someone's experience.
(iii) Only the experiencing person can be aware or conscious of his/her experiences. Thus, experiences are imbedded in our awareness or consciousness.
(iv) Experiences are influenced by internal and external conditions of the experiences.
(v) The nature of the experience can only be understood by analyzing a complex set of internal and external conditions.
(vi) Experiences are important because most of our learning is based on experiences.
Behaviors:
(i) Behaviors are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in. E.g. One can feel the heart pounding before taking an examination.
(ii) Some behaviors such as thinking may be simple or complex, short or enduring.
(iii) On the other hand, some behaviors can be outwardly seen or sensed and are called overt, for example laughing.
(iv) All behaviors can be explained on the basis of S-R (Stimulus Response Relations). Any behavior, overt or covert, is associated with or triggered by a stimulus.
(v) Both stimulus and response can be internal or external.
(vi) The same stimulus can have different responses, due to the
organism variable. It emphasizes upon an individual's uniqueness and variation
that make him different from other.
• Psychology as a discipline
(i) It studies behavior, experience and mental processes.
(ii) It seeks to understand and explain how the mind works and how different mental processes result in different behaviors.
(iii) When we observe others, our own point of view or ways of understanding the world influence our interpretations of their behaviors and experiences.
(iv) Psychologists try to minimize such biases in their explanations of behavior and experience in various ways.
(v) Some do so by making their analysis scientific and objective.
(vi) Others seek to explain behavior from the point of view of those experiencing persons because they think that selectivity is a necessary aspect of human experience.
- Neuroscience and computer science borrow principles continuously from psychology.
There are fast developing brain imaging techniques like MRI, ECG,
etc. which make it
possible to study brain processes in real time, i.e., when they are actually taking place.
Psychology as hybrid science :
Psychology is a hybrid science that draws its influence from both natural and social sciences.
As a natural science :
(1) Modem Psychology has developed because of the application of the scientific method to study, psychological phenomenon.
(ii) As a physical science, it emphasizes on data that is systematic and can be studied under controlled conditions.
(iii) It is quantitative and requires analysis.
(iv) It takes influences from both physics and biology and believes in the Hypothetico Deductive Model (HDM).
(v) Every or any hypothesis can be accepted or rejected on the
basis of factors available.
The model suggests that scientific advancement can take place if you have a theory to explain a phenomenon.
(vi) A hypothesis is a tentative solution to a problem that helps in guiding a research or a theory.
(vii) Hypothesis has been successfully used for determining many
theories related to learning and memory. For example, the way a child has been
brought up in his family will shape his personality.
Definitions of Psychology
Etymologically psychology means the science of the soul, viz., 'psyche' mean 'soul' and 'logos' means 'science." The earlier psychologists maintained that the function of psychology was to study the nature, origin and the destiny of the human soul. Modern psychologists, however, doubt the existence of the soul since there is no empirical evidence for its existence.
Many of the earlier psychologists, however, believed in the existence of the mind. Some contemporary psychologists also believe in the existence of the mind.
(i) Psychology is the Science of Mind
In 1892 William James defined psychology as the 'science of mental processes'. In his view, psychology may be defined in terms of conscious states.
(ii) Psychology is the Science of Consciousness:
In 1884 James Sully defined psychology as the science of the
'inner world' as distinguished from physical science which study the physical
phenomena.
In 1892 Wilhelm Wundt defined psychology as the science which
studies the 'internal experiences'.
(iii) Psychology is the Science of Behavior:
J. B. Watson, however, discarded the concepts of the 'mind',
'consciousness', 'purpose' and the like from psychological use, and defined
psychology as 'the science of behavior.
(iv) Psychology is the Science of the Experience and Behavior
of the Individual in Relation to his Environment:
K. Koffka holds that even though the concept of 'consciousness
cannot be completely discarded from psychological vocabulary the main aim of
psychology is the study of behavior.
R.S. Woodworth defines psychology as the "science of
activities of the individual."
The Four Goals Of Psychology
The study of psychology has Four Goals -
1. Describe :
• Describing things is something we do every single day with no conscious thought or effort. But describing in psychology has a slightly different meaning than the describing we do in our everyday life.
• Describing a problem, an issue, or behavior is the first goal of psychology.
• Descriptions help psychologists to distinguish between normal
and abnormal behavior and gain a more accurate understanding and perspective on
human and animal behavior, actions, and thoughts.
2. Explain:
Psychologists are very interested in being able to explain behavior rather than just being able to describe it.
This helps in providing answers to questions about why people react in a certain way, why they do the things they do and the factors which affect their personally, meir mental health, their actions etc.
3. Predict:
• Making predictions about how we think, and act is the third goal of psychology. By looking at past observed behavior (describing and explaining) psychologists aim to predict how that behavior will appear again in the future and whether other people might exhibit the same behavior.
• Through the process of describing an explanation, psychologists are able to understand more about what thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are contributing factors.
• They can then use that knowledge to predict why, when, and how
those things might happen in the future.
4. Change/Control:
Psychology aims to change, influence, or control behavior to make
positive, constructive, meaningful, and lasting changes in people's lives and
to influence their behavior for the better. This is the final and most
important goal of
How Can You Use the Four Goals in Your Life?
If you're trying to change something in your life or develop a healthier habit, consider using the four goals. To start, visualize your goal. What is that you want? Once you have that goal in mind, start with describing by writing down your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and what is going on in your life. This will help breakdown and clarify your thoughts if they are chaotic or jumbled. You can also make a list, create a mind-map or choose other ways of recording your thoughts. Try to be as detailed as possible.
Explaining is the process of trying to figure out what is going on, and this can be done by reflecting on a personal experience that might hold some type of explanation for your habit or behavior. Asking yourself "why" questions can be helpful in reaching the goal of explaining.
Taking notes from describing and explaining might help you to be
able to predict future thoughts and behaviors. For example, maybe you have
described feeling anxiety when faced with a social event. Through the process
of asking yourself why you feel anxious, you might come to the conclusion that
you feel anxious because you're scared that people might not like you. From
this, you can predict the next time you attend an event, you will probably feal
anxious again. With this prediction, you can then work on acting, or velho in
certain ways to help you control or curb the anxiety, which leads us to the
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