Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology MAHESH S WANGI SHRI B.V.V’S INSTITUTE OF NURSING SCIENCES BAGALKOT

Health: A complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1946). • Mental Health: Is a state of emotional, psychological, and social wellness. • Mental Illness: Is a clinically significant behavioural or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and is associated with present distress

Psychology: The study of mind, behaviour, emotions, and thought processes. • Psychology assists health professionals with understanding their patients and themselves. • The word of psychology made up of two Greek words – ‘psychi’ and ‘logos’. ‘Psychi’ means ‘soul’ and ‘logos’ means the ‘study of’ or ‘knowledge’—study of soul.

DEFINITIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY • Psychology is the science of human and animal behaviour; it includes the application of behavioural science to human problems. • Psychology is the science of human behaviour. (Walter Bowers Pillsbury—1911) • Psychology is a science, which aims to give us better understanding and control of the behaviour of the organism as a whole. (William McDoughall—1949) • Psychology is the investigation of human and animal behavior and of the mental and physiological processes associated with the behaviour. (Jackson—1976)

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF SCIENCE OF ( DEVELOPMENT) PSYCHOLOGY The successes of the experimental method in the physical sciences encouraged some philosophers to think that mind and behavior could be studied with scientific methods. • In 1879, the first psychological laboratory was established at the University of Leipzig by the German philosopher and psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920). • Wundt was the first to measure human behavior accurately and is known as the ‘Father of Psychology’.

Ancient Time: • 1. Aristotle (322- 384 BC) a. All beings have souls, which animate them. b. Human have rational souls compared to other animals. • 2. Rene Descardes (1596 – 1650) a. People are born with collection of knowledge and some ideas are inborn, such as (perfection). b. Human body is similar to a machine, so it can be studied.

3. John Locke (1632 – 1704). -At birth, human mind is a blank slate, on which experiences write knowledge. • 4. Francis Galton (1822–1911) a. Studied individual differences. b. He was considered as the “Father of Mental tests”

Modern Psychology 1. Wilhelm Wundt (1832- 1920) a. He was considered as the “Father of Modern Psychology. b. He noted that mental process could be investigated with objective technique similar to other scientific fields. 2. G. Stanley Hall (student of Wundt) - He established the first American psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in 1883. 3. Hermann Ebbinghaus (a German psychologist) - He reported on the first experiments on memory in 1885.

School Thoughts 1.Structuralism (Wundt and his colleagues): The aim was to study consciousness by breaking it down into its components – mainly perception, sensation, affection. 2. Functionalism (William James and John Dewey): Functionalism is a theory about the nature of mental states. mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of.

3. Behaviorism John B. Watson: a. Internal mental processes cannot be observed, so they should not be studied. b. Psychology should focus on the study of behaviour. c. He believed that behaviours were automatic response to stimuli from the environment not the result of internal mental processes. Behaviorism Skinner (Operant Conditioning): Skinner set out operant condition (reinforcing )to identify the processes, which made certain operant behaviors more or less likely to occur.

4. Gestalt theory: • Any psychological phenomenon, from perceptual processes to human personality, should be studied as a whole (holistically), and should not be broken down into components. 5. Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud): • The unconscious is responsible for most thought and behavior in all people and the disorders of the mentally ill.

6. Humanism Perspective: • Humanists believed humans were inherently good and that their own mental processes played an active role in their behavior. 7. Cognitive Perspective: • Explains behavior by looking at a person’s particular ways of reasoning and thinking.

SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY • The scope of a subject can usually be discussed under the following two headings: 1. The limits of its operations and applications. 2. The branches, topics and subject matter with which it deals. The field of operation and applications of the subject psychology is too vast. • It studies, describes and explains the behaviour of living organisms. • It describes all types of life activities and experiences — whether conative(intentional), cognitive or affective, implicit or explicit, conscious, unconscious and subconscious of a living organism.

It studies not only human behaviour, but also human experience, language and other forms of communication. • It employs to all the living creatures irrespective of their species, caste, colour, age, sex, mental or physical state. • It also studies the behaviour of the animals, insects, birds and plant life. • They study how individuals and society interact and how they behave as members of small and large groups.

Branches of psychology

Pure Psychology • It provides the framework and theory. • It deals with the formulation of psychological principles and theories. • It suggests various methods and techniques for the analysis, assessment, modification and improvement of behavior. • Applied Psychology • The theory generated through pure psychology finds its practical shape. • Here we discuss ways and means of the applications of psychological rules, principles, theories and techniques with reference to the real practical life situations.

Branches of Pure Psychology • General Psychology • General psychology deals with the fundamental rules, principles and theories of psychology in relation to the study of behavior of a normal adult. • Abnormal Psychology • Abnormal psychology deals with the behavior of individuals who are unusual. It studies mental disorders, their causes and treatment. • Social Psychology • Social psychology deals with the group behavior and interrelationships of people with other people.

Physiological Psychology • This branch of psychology describes and explains the biological and physiological basis of behavior. It concerns the structure and functions of sense organs, nervous system, muscles and glands underlying all behavior. Parapsychology • Parapsychology deals with extrasensory perceptions, causes of rebirth, telepathy and allied problems. • Geopsychology • This branch of psychology describes and explains the relation of physical environment particularly weather, climate and soil with behavior.

Developmental Psychology • This branch of psychology describes the processes and factors that influence the growth and development in relation to the behavior of an individual from birth to old age. • Experimental Psychology • This branch of psychology studies the ways and means of carrying out psychological experiments by using scientific methods. • Experimental psychologists do basic research in an effort to discover and understand the fundamental and general causes of behavior.

Branches of Applied Psychology • Educational Psychology • Educational psychology is a branch of applied psychology, which tries to apply the psychological principles, theories and techniques to human behavior in educational situations. (aspects of the teaching /learning process) • Clinical Psychology • This is the largest subfield of psychology. • This branch of applied psychology describes the causes of mental illness, abnormal behavior of a patient and suggests treatment and effective adjustment of the affected person in society.

Industrial Psychology • Tries to seek application of the psychological principles, theories and techniques for the study of human behavior in relation to industrial environment. • Industrial psychologists apply psychological principles to assist public and private organizations with their hiring and placement programs. • Legal Psychology • Tries to study the behavior of persons like clients, criminals, witnesses, etc. • The root cause of crime, offence, dispute or any legal case can be properly understood through the use of this branch of psychology.

Military Psychology • It is concerned with the use of psychological principles and techniques in military science. • How to keep the morale of the soldiers and citizens high during war time, how to secure better recruitment of the personnel for the fighting capacities and organizational climate and leadership, etc. • Political Psychology • This branch of psychology relates itself with the use of psychological principles and techniques in studying politics and deriving political gains.

Applications of Psychology • In the Field of Education • Theories of learning, motivation and personality, etc. have been responsible for shaping and designing the educational system according to the needs and requirements of the students. • In the Field of Medicine • A doctor, nurse or any person who attends the patient, needs to know the science of behavior to achieve good results. Psychology has contributed valuable therapeutic measures like behavior therapy, play therapy, group therapy, psychoanalysis, etc. for the diagnosis and cure of patients suffering from psychosomatic, as well as mental diseases.

In the Field of Business and Industry • It has highlighted the importance of knowledge of consumer’s psychology and harmonious interpersonal relationship in the field of commerce and industry. • In the Field of Criminology • It has helped in detection of crimes and in dealing with criminals. • In the Field of Politics • It has proved useful to the politicians and leaders to learn the qualities of leadership for leading the masses.

In the Filed of Guidance and Counseling • It has provided valuable help in relation to guidance and counseling in educational, personal as well as vocational areas. • In the Field of Military Science • Psychology helps in the selection, training, promotion and classification of defense personnel. In fighting the enemy, the morale of the defense personnel and of citizens must at all costs be high and this can only be achieved by providing suggestions, insight and confidence. • In the Field of Human Relationship and Self-Development • Finally it has helped human beings to learn the art of understanding their own behavior, seeking adjustment with their self and others and enhancing, as well as actualizing their potentialities to the utmost possible.

RELEVANCE TO NURSING • Psychology has become necessary in every profession including nursing today. • This is because of increasing emphasis being laid out on the interplay of body, mind and spirit in the health status of every individual. • The knowledge of psychology will help the nurse to understand the problems and needs of patients and attend to them. • It will help the nurses to understand such abnormal behaviors and help the patients in the management and cure.

The learning of psychology helps a nurse in the following ways: • To Understand Her Own Self. • To Understand Patients. • To Recognize Abnormal Behavior. • To Understand Other People. • To Provide Quality Care to Patients. • Help Patients Adjust to the Situation.

Why Nursing Students Study Psychology • Assists students to understand their own behaviors and the behaviors of others. • Assists students to understand the reason of their behaviors. • Develop insight on how the psychological knowledge and procedures can be applied in the problem solving of personal and social problems. • Assists students to deal with different types of patients & people in their future work. • Helps gaining more insight in evaluating psychological information that students read or hear about.

METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY • Psychology is termed as the scientific study of human behavior. • Special tools and procedures help us in gathering and organizing its subject matter or the essential facts about behavior. • These procedures are termed as methods, which are used to study human behavior

Introspection or Self-observation Method • This is one of the oldest methods of psychology. Introspection means ‘to look within’. This is also known as self-observation method. • It is not possible to understand the inner feelings and experiences of other persons. • For example, a patient after an operation may be asked to report how he feels. The patient will try to look within and recall what happened and how he is presently feeling. • This information will help for better treatment.

Merits • Observation and experimentation are based upon introspection. • It gives us direct, immediate and exact knowledge of our own mental processes. • It enables us to fully understand the behavior of an individual. • This method is inexpensive, easy and does not require any apparatus or laboratory.

Demerits • This method is not applicable for children or animals or mentally retarded people, because they cannot introspect. • It is a purely private affair and cannot be verifiedby other observers. • In many cases, the patients may not have the insight to know about their conditions or language to describe them accurately. • Introspection sometimes involves attention to a mental process.

Observational Method • Observation is the objective method of studying the behavior of individuals. • It consists of, perception of an individual’s behavior under natural conditions. • Merits • It is economical, natural, as well as flexible. • The data, which is studied through observation can be analyzed, measured, classified and interpreted. • The results can be verified and relied. • Observation method is quite suitable for observing developmental characteristics like children’s habits and interests.

Demerits • There are chances of subjective report and also prejudices of observer may creep in. • Sometimes to observe the natural behavior the observer may have to spend more time, energy and money. • It lacks repeatability, as each natural situation can occur only once. • Not being able to establish a proper cause and effect relationship.

Experimental Method • Experimental method is considered as the most scientific and objective method of studying behavior. • In psychology, experimental study is used to study the cause and effect relationship regarding the nature of human behavior, i.e. the effect of anxiety on the human behavior. • To study the cause and effect relationship the psychologists use objective observations under controlled conditions to observe actions or behaviors of individuals. • From these observations certain conclusions are drawn and theories or principles established.

Merits • Scientific method. • Finds out cause and effect relationship. • Maximum control of phenomena. • Repetition is possible. • Demerits • All problems of psychology cannot be studied by this method, as we cannot perform experiments for all the problems. • Experimental method is a costly and time consuming method. • Handling of this method demands specialized knowledge and skill. • Experimental method fails to study behavior in naturalistic conditions.

Clinical or Case History Method • This method is used by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers in child guidance clinics or mental hygiene clinics and the allied institutions. • It aims at studying the cause and basis of people’s anxieties, fears and personal maladjustments. • A great deal of relevant data is collected by using case histories, interviews, home visits and psychological tests to draw valid inferences about the nature of the individual’s difficulties and problems, the probable origin and course of development.

Merits • Case histories will give the clinician an insight into the causes of the problem and suggest possible solutions. • Case studies can be productive sources of ideas for further investigation by other methods. • Demerits • The case history method depends largely on memory of incidents, which may have been observed inaccurately or over interpreted.

Survey Method • All problems in psychology cannot be studied by the experimental and other methods. Some problems like study of opinions, attitudes, health care needs, etc. can be studied by means of survey method. • It involves collection or gathering of information from a large number of people by using questionnaires, inventories, checklists, rating scales and interviews. • Merit • A large amount of data can be collected in a shorter time. • Demerit • The behavior is not observed directly.

Genetic or Developmental Method • Psychologists study not only the behavior of an individual at a particular time, but also his development from birth to death, the influence of heredity and environment in the development of the person and conditions favorable and unfavorable for normal and abnormal behavior. • For example, to understand the learning behavior of an adult, the study will start from the childhood and adolescence. • This can be done by two ways: • Cross-sectional study in which, the children of different age groups will be studied simultaneously. • Longitudinal study in which, the same child will be studied in different stages of life.

Merits • This is a more useful method to understand the behavior from point of view of hereditary and environmental influences. • Demerit • This method requires more time and energy.

Applied Psychology to Solve Everyday Issues • Psychology is not just limited to mental disorders, counselling and therapy sessions; it is much more than that. • The role of psychology comes into play right from the moment you wake up in the morning till you sleep at night. • From just community communicating with other to taking lif’s toughest decisions psychology finds its applications in almost all aspects of our early life.

Motivation • Health • Advertisement • Sports • Relationships • Healthy eating • Leadership Skills • Politics • Decision Making and Problem Solving • Communication • Personal Growth • Finance Management • Workplace • Academics

Relationship with other subjects • The relationship between Psychology and Other Sciences; • I) Psychology and Physical Sciences: • Psychology is a science of experience of an individual. But experience presupposes the duality of subject and object, both of which are real. • Psychology deals with mental processes such as knowing, feeling and willing, and in order to account for them adequately it must study the nature of physical stimuli in relation to knowing and willing • But there is a difference between psychology and physical sciences in the treatment of physical objects. Physical sciences investigate the nature of physical stimuli apart from their relation to an individual.

But psychology studies the nature of the interaction between an individual with physical stimuli. • Psycho-logical science is not concerned with the nature of physical stimuli in themselves apart from their relation to an individual. • It is primarily concerned with behaviour of an individual, and indirectly concerned with external stimuli. • Physical sciences investigate the nature of physical phenomena, and so they help psychology to explain the experience and behaviour of the individual, which are reactions to the physical and social stimuli

II) Psychology and Biology: • Psychology is a science of the experience and behaviour. However experience cannot be adequately explained without the concomitant physiological processes. • The environment acts on the mind through the sense-organs; and the mind reacts to the environment through the muscles. The sense-organs and muscles are organs of the body. So mental processes are closely related to bodily processes. • In fact, mental processes are regarded by many psychologists as functions of life. They are devices for better adaptation of the psycho-physical organism to the environment.

Experience and behaviour of an individual can be explained in terms of some of the basic concepts of biological science. • E. R. Hess has shown that there are close correlations between psychic and neuronal processes in human personality. • In his view, it is quite probable that there are connections between "psychic performances and the organization of the brain." • The subjective experience of an individual is closely related to the cerebral structure and the properties of its structural elements. • There is a close correlation between the organization of the brain and arrangements of the contents of consciousness.

III) Psychology and Physiology: Psychology is a science of experience. Experiences of an individual are intimately connected with physiological processes, especially of the nervous system. Hence, psychology studies these physiological processes in order to adequately account for mental processes. • It does not study those physiological processes which are not related to mental processes, because it is primarily concerned with mental processes and behaviour. • Psychology also deals with behaviour which is an expression of experience.

Behaviour is bodily reaction of an individual to the physical and social environment. • The Behaviourists seek to reduce psychology to physiology which is a biological science. They do away with the concept of mind or consciousness. • Psychology deals with behaviour which is a reaction of the whole organism to the stimulus, and not of a part of it. But physiology studies the reactions of the different parts or organs of the body.

IV) Psychology and Logic: • Psychology is wider in scope than Logic, because it deals with all kinds of mental processes, viz., knowing, feeling and willing. But Logic deals with thinking only, which is a kind of knowing. It does not deal with feeling and willing. • But Logic is not identical with the psychology of thinking, because • psychology is a positive science, while Logic is a normative science. Psychology tells us how we actually think while Logic- tells us how we ought to think in order to arrive at truth. • There are some differences between • Psychology deals with the process of reasoning or mental exploration of data whereas Logic deals with the result of mental exploration or finding a new relationship among the data.

Introduction to Psychology