PSY101 Midterm Short Notes Set 2

PSY101 Introduction to Psychology Short Notes for Midterm Exam Preparation

German philosopher and physiologist Wilhelm Wundt set the foundations of modern psychology in 1879, by establishing the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

“Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes …. Human or Animal”

Psychologists study animals’ behavior too; to better understand and predict human behavior, the study of animal behavior becomes essential at times, especially because some researches cannot be carried out with humans due to safety reasons or ethical issues

Main goals of psychology are:

a) Observation, b) Description, c) Understanding, d) Explanation, e) Prediction, and f) Control of human behavior and mental processes.

Psychology is a science that uses scientific method for gathering knowledge and information.

Scientific method is a systematic and organized series of steps that scientists adopt for exploring any phenomenon in order to obtain accurate and consistent results. Steps involved in Scientific method: observation, description, control, and replication

“Psychology has a long past, but only a short history.”(Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1908)

Trephining was a procedure whereby a hole was drilled into the skull of a mental patient. This was done in order to let the evil spirits or demons escape from the sufferer’s body.

In 1590, Rudolf Goeckel used the term “psychology”. This word is the combination of two Greek words “ psyche” and “ logos”, the former means the “ soul” and the later “ discursive knowledge”. Thus literally, psychology means the science of soul.

Aristotle gave a very important place to soul in human life. Life has no meaning without soul.

Psychology was also defined as the “science of mind”.

INTRODUCTION:

Psychology has also been defined as the science of consciousness defined by Wilhelm Wundt

Modern physiologists and Watson, the founder of the behaviorist school of thought, defined

psychology as a science of behavior, both of animals and humans

The new scientific psychology is a fusion of two psychologies, i.e., philosopher’s psychology and the sensory psychology. So basically Psychology emerged from Philosophy

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology concerned with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of abnormal behavior. It is the oldest as well as the most well known branch of psychology.

Industrial / Organizational Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies the psychology in action at the workplace, including productivity, job satisfaction, and decision-making

Health Psychology

The branch of psychology that explores the relationship of psychological factors and physical illness or disease

Consumer Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies and explains our buying habits and our effects of advertising a buying behavior. Mainly dealt with the likes and dislikes and preferences of people.

Environmental Psychology

A branch of psychology, that focuses upon the relationship between people and their physical environment.

Sport Psychology

The branch of psychology that studies the psychological variables that have an impact upon the sportspersons’ performance; e.g. how stress can affect sport performance, how morale can be boosted, the impact of crowd behavior etc.

Forensic Psychology

The branch of psychology that investigates legal issues and psychological variables involved in criminal behavior.

POPULAR AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY:

HIPPOCRATES (460-377 B.C.)

Hippocrates was a physician, Regarded as the “Father of Medicine” He postulated a theory of “humors” that account for the basic human activity.

PLATO (427-347 B.C.)

He was the first person in history to produce a great allembracing system of philosophy. He developed the theory of knowledge, theory of conduct, theory of state, and the theory of universe. According to Plato, the soul has three parts or components, which he calls reason, spirit, and appetite. According to Plato, when a person moves from believing to thinking, he moves from the visible world to the intelligible world, from the realm of opinion to the realm of knowledge. Plato believed that thinking gives us knowledge of truth.

ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

He was not only a philosopher in the modern sense but he was a man of universal learning. There was no branch of knowledge, which did not receive his attention except, mathematics. It is to him that we owe the first systematic treatment of psychology.