PSYCHOLOGY

​

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

​The word psychology was derived from two Greek words, namely Psyche and Logos. Psyche means soul and Logos means study or science so the literal meaning of the term psychology is the study of soul.

According to American Professor Walter Bowers Pillsbury Psychology is defined as the science of human behaviour.

NL Munn says, “Psychology is a science and the properly trained psychologist is a scientist, or at least a practitioner who uses scientific methods and information resulting from scientific investigation.”

​Some Definitions

Psychology is defined as

• “The study of soul”

• “The science of soul”

• “The science of mind”

• “The science of study of conscious experience”—(Wilhelm Wunt, 1879)

• “What the psychologists are interested in”—(Woodworth and Marquis, 1947)

• “The study of objective behaviour by subjective experience.”—(School of introspectionism)

• “The science of human behaviour.”

• “The science of the activities of the individual”—(Woodworth and Marquis)

• “The science of experience and behaviour.”—(Munn).

​2 Psychology for Physiotherapists

All the above definitions are vague and not more tangible

to the subject and what it deals actually. The definitions seem

to be more comprehensive. Today most psychologists include

both behaviour and mind.

Psychology means “scientific study of behaviour and

mental processes and they are affected by the organism’s

physical and mental states and external environment.”

According to CT Morgan “psychology is the science of

human and animal behaviour, and it includes the application

of this science to human problems.”

​Psychology as a Science

A science is a body of systematized knowledge that is gathered

by carefully observing and measuring the events. As the

psychology uses experiments and observations, which others

can repeat, this also can be considered as a science.

Application of Psychology

It is often used to solve the “Real-Life” problems.

What it Means—Study of Behaviour?
Behaviour includes anything a person or animal does that can be observed in some way, unlike mind or thoughts or feelings. Behaviour is the avenue through which internal

mental events can be studied.

​Goals of Psychology

The goals of psychology are as follows:

• To describe behaviour and mental processes

• To understand behaviour and mental processes

• To predict behaviour and mental processes

• To control or modify behaviour and mental processes.


Scope of Psychology

Psychology has its own scope. Indeed the scope of psychology

is as wide and varied as human activities are. But it can be seen from the number of branches of psychology, the work of psychologist and how the principles are applied for the benefit of man.

​Early Schools of Psychology

The following are the different early schools of psychology:

• Structuralism

(Wilhelm Wunt/B. Titchener—1867-1927, Germany)

• Functionalism

(John Dewey, James Angelld Harvey—Chicago)

• Behaviourism

(John B. Watson—1879-1958, Hopkins University)
Gestalt psychology

(Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler—1912,

Germany)

• Psychoanalysis

(Sigmund Freud—1856-1938, Austria).

​Structuralism

The goal of the structuralism was to find the units or elements,

which make up the element. They thought that first step must

be a description of basis, or elementary, units of sensation,

image and emotion which comprise it.

Method used: INTROSPECTION

In this method the subjects were trained to report as

objectively as possible what they experienced in connection

with a certain stimulus, e.g. A subject might be presented

with a coloured light and asked to describe it as minutely as

possible.

​Gestalt Psychology

The German word Gestalt means Form or Configuration and the gestalt psychologist maintained that mind should be thought of as resulting from the whole pattern of sensory activity and the relationship and organization within this pattern.


Functionalism

It proposed that psychology should study what mind and behaviour do. Specifically functionalist felt that mind and behaviour are adaptive—they enable an individual to adjust to a changing environment. They did experiments on functions like learning, memory, reasoning and motivation etc.

​Psychoanalysis

Freud said that what we do and think results from urges or drives, which seek expression in behaviour and thought, i.e. it is the expression of the unconscious drives which shows up in behaviour and thought. (Key idea— Unconscious motivation).


METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Following are the different methods of psychology:

• Experimental method

• Observation method

• Introspection method

• Inventory method

​Others methods which are also used in psychology are as

follows:

• Case study method

• Correlation method

• Survey method
Experimental Method

In this method, the experimenter:

• changes or varies the events which are hypothesised to

have an effect

• keeps other conditions constant

• looks for an effect of the change or variation.

Experimental method is a research method where inves-

tigator systematically alters one or more variable in order to

determine whether such changes will influence some aspects

of behaviour.

​Types of Experimental Method

There are two types of experimental method, which are as

follows:

• Laboratory experiment

• Field experiment

Laboratory experiment: Laboratory experiment contains

following components:

• Hypothesis

• Variables

• Control

For example—Experiment seeking to discover the relationship between learning ability and age.

Hypothesis → the above said example

Variables → Age and learning ability

• Hypothesis: Hypothesis is a statement of a particular

situation.