meaning science or study of a subject. Thus, psychology was a study of the soul

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  Psychology   The term psychology is derived from two Greek words psyche meaning soul and logos meaning science or study of a subject. Thus, psychology was a study of the soul or mind.  But since  then, it has moved away considerably from this focus and established itself as a scientific discipline which deals with processes underlying human experience and behaviour.  psychology is defined formally as a science which studies mental processes, experiences and  behaviour in different contexts.  it uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain data systematically. It makes sense of these data so that they can be  organized as knowledge.  Goals of Psychology   Watson (1913) declared that, as in other sciences, psychology’s “theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior” (p. 158).   On the practical level, Watson (1924a) looked to a time when “we will have a behavioristic ethics, experimental in type, which will tell us whether it is advisable from the standpoint of present and future adjustments…”      History of Psychology    Philosopher Plato (427-347 BCE) and French Philosopher/Mathematician  Rene Descartes (1596- 1650), who were against of  John Locke, believed that  some knowledge was born in humans.     Late 19th century- the start of the formal Psychology as a scientific discipline.  Early philosophy   From approximately 600 to 300 BC, Greek philosophers explored a wide range of topics relating to what we now consider psychology.    Socrates and his followers, Plato and Aristotle, wrote about such topics as pleasure, pain, knowledge, motivation, and rationality.  They theorized about whether human traits are innate or the product of experience, which continues to be a topic of debate in psychology today.    They also considered the origins of mental illness, with both Socrates and Plato focusing on psychological forces as the root of such illnesses.   17th Century    René Descartes, a French mathematician and philosopher from the 1600s, theorized that the body and mind are separate entities, a concept that came to be known as dualism.   According to  dualism, the body is a physical entity with scientifically measurable behavior, while the mind is a spiritual entity that cannot be measured because it transcends the material world.   He believed that the being able to identify thoughts was the only way to truly know that you existed.  Descartes believed that the two interacted only through a tiny structure at the base of the brain called the pineal gland.  His emphasis on thought processes (cognition) influenced not only philosophy, but also the field of psychology.

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Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were English philosophers from the 17th century who disagreed with the concept of dualism.   They argued that all human experiences are physical processes occurring within the brain and nervous system. Thus, their argument was that sensations, images, thoughts, and feelings are all valid subjects of study.      Wilhem Wundt    established the first experimental laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, devoted to psychological phenomena.    a professor of Biology in Germany   regarded as the “Father of Modern Psychology” -his aim was to study the building blocks of  mind    he considered psychology to be the study of conscious  experience    Psychology was not considered an area of study until the 1870’s when the ideas of the industrial revolution were applied to the fields of philosophy and physiology.    The German scientist Wilhelm Wundt opened the first laboratory and faculty of Psychology in the University of Leipzig in 1879 and established the first Psychological Journal in 1881.    He is estimated to have written over 54,000 pages of work He was the first to apply the scientific method to the field.   

• Stanley Hall   

One of Wundt’s students was G. Stanley Hall who was vital for bringing the science of psychology to America.    He founded the American Psychological Association

and became its first president, he started America’s first research laboratory at John’s Hopkins University in 1883, he began the first journal of psychology in America.  

STRUCTURALISM VS FUNCTIONALISM   

At

this time, psychology split into two main schools:

 structuralism vs. functionalism.    Structuralists were led by Edward  Tichner, they believed that the task of psychology was to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and study how these were related. These elements would include ideas like sensations, emotions, and images.     These investigations were based on introspection by trained subjects.      Introspection – careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience.    Structuralism    Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components.    Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection.    Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of the first experimental psychology lab, is often associated with this school of thought. However, Wundt referred to his view of psychology as voluntarism.    A movement considered to be the first school of psychology as a science, independent of philosophy.    Usually attributed to Wilhelm Wundt, but probably more strongly and directly influenced by Edward Bradford Titchener, structuralism defined psychology as the study of mental experience and sought to investigate the structure of such 2 / 4

experience through a systematic program of experiments based on trained introspection.      William James- functionalism     n.a general psychological approach that views mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to environmental challenges and opportunities.    Functionalism was developed at the University of Chicago by psychologists John Dewey, James R. Angell, and Harvey A. Carr at the beginning of the 20th century as a revolt against the atomistic point of view of structuralism, which limited psychology to the dissection of states of consciousness and the study of mental content rather than mental activities.   The focus of functionalism reveals its debt to evolutionary concepts, to the act psychology of Franz Brentano, and to the approach detailed by William James.   Functionalism became popular with the publication of  Principles of Psychology in 1890 by William James.      The work became the standard text for psychological departments and is still required reading in many university programs.    Functionalism is the idea that psychology should focus on the function or purpose of consciousness rather than its structure.   William James (1842–1910) was the first American psychologist who espoused a different perspective on how psychology should operate. James was introduced to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and accepted it as an explanation of an organism’s characteristics.   Key to that theory is the idea that natural selection leads to organisms that are adapted to their environment, including their behavior. Adaptation means that a trait of an organism has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual, because it has been naturally selected.    As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior in the world, and as such, his perspective was  known  as functionalism.

Before long, however, psychologists suggested that psychology should not concern itself with the structure of consciousness because, they argued, consciousness was always changing so it had no basic structure.    Instead, they suggested that psychology should focus on the function or purpose of consciousness and how it leads to adaptive behavior.  Difference between Structuralism and Functionalism     Structuralists focused their work  on the laboratory and on sensation and perception.     Functionalism took the field in new directions and focused on mental testing, education, and adolescent development.     Functionalism’s practical application of early psychological principles led to the formation of the next major development.      Modern perspectives   1.Biological Perspective-.Bio  psychologists are interested in measuring biological, physiological, and/or genetic variables and attempting to relate them to psychological or 3 / 4

behavioral variables. Because all behavior is controlled by the central nervous system,  bio

psychologists seek to understand how the brain functions in order to understand behavior.      2.Psychodynamic Perspective- Psychodynamic theory is an approach to psychology that studies the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions, and how they may relate to early childhood experience.    This theory is especially interested in the dynamic relations between conscious and unconscious motivation and  asserts that behavior is the product of underlying conflicts over which people often have little awareness.     3. Behaviourists Perspective- Behaviorism is an approach to psychology that emerged in the early 20th century as a reaction to the psychoanalytic theory of the time. Psychoanalytic theory often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested using rigorous experimental methods.    The behaviorist school of thought maintains that behaviors can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as thoughts and beliefs. Rather than focusing on underlying conflicts, behaviorism focuses on observable, overt behaviors that are learned from the environment.      

• Cross cultural Perspective- Sociocultural

factors are the larger-scale forces within cultures and societies that affect the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individuals.    These include forces such as attitudes, child-rearing practices, discrimination and prejudice, ethnic and racial identity, gender roles and norms, family and kinship structures, power dynamics, regional differences, religious beliefs and practices, rituals, and taboos.   Several sub fields within psychology seek to examine these sociocultural factors that influence human mental states and behavior; among these are social psychology, cultural psychology, and cultural-historical psychology.    

• Humanistic Perspective- Humanistic

psychology is a psychological perspective that rose to prominence in the mid-20th century, drawing on the philosophies of existentialism and phenomenology, as well as Eastern  philosophy   It adopts a holistic approach to human existence through investigations of concepts such as meaning, values, freedom, tragedy, personal responsibility, human potential, spirituality, and self- actualization.     Behaviourism    n.an approach to psychology, formulated in 1913 by John B. Watson, based on the study of objective, observable facts rather than subjective, qualitative processes, such as feelings, motives, and consciousness.   To make psychology a naturalistic science, Watson proposed to limit it to quantitative events, such as stimulus–response relationships, effects of conditioning, physiological processes, and a study of human and animal behavior, all of which can best be investigated through laboratory experiments that yield objective measures under controlled conditions.   Historically, behaviorists held that mind was not a proper topic for scientific study since mental events are subjective and not independently verifiable. With its emphasis on activity as an adaptive function, behaviorism is seen as an outgrowth of functionalism. 

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