“psychology is the science of behavior.” what, if anything, is wrong with this definition?
INTRODUCTIONM Show Human behavior is a complex phenomenon. All are interested in understanding human behavior. Primarily, it was the philosophers who took up the subject of human behavior and tried to find out the cause for such behavior. Thus, psychology has rich roots dating back into philosophy and physiology. Later on, as the element of speculative thinking decreased and objective experimental investigation increased, it gradually developed into a positive science. Now, it has been regarded as an independent branch of study. It explains the recent opening of the independent department of psychology in the various universities. It is the subject of modern era concerned with the study of human being and psychological process that can understand human being in a better way. Meaning and Definition Psychology as science of soul: Psychology has come from the Greek word ‘psyche’ which means ‘soul’ and ‘logos’ which means ‘to study’. Thus, psychology means study of soul. Hence, it was regarded as a talk about soul. Later on, it was observed that it is better to call psychology as the ‘science of soul’ rather than to ‘talk about soul’, as psychology is a science and better word because of the following reasons:
But the definition of considering psychology as study of soul was rejected because of following reasons:2
So, the definition of psychology as study of science was unscientific and hence this is discarded. Psychology as science of mind: The term mind was considered better and it was substituted for soul. Hence, the study of soul psychology changed to the study of mind. Various views about mind: Laymen's view; mind is something in the body or heart which feels or acts. If mind means something mysterious to ourself it would be just the same as soul. Hence this definition again got rejected. Psychologist's view; mind is combination of some total of mental process and it stands for personal experiences of man, i.e. pleasure, pain, wishes, hope expectation, dream and desire, etc. Many other characteristics and mental processes were also explained before rejecting the definition of psychology as study of mind like continuity, unity, immaterial and private. Criticism of Definition
Psychology as science of consciousness: Since 1857, psychology was defined as ‘science of consciousness’. Consciousness refers to awareness to self and others. Hence, consciousness stands for inner experience of man–his thoughts, feelings and memories, etc. This definition of psychology as study of mind or consciousness is got rejected due to following reasons:
‘Psychology as a science of immediate experience with consciousness being the main subject matter’ (Wilhelm Wundt, 1832–1920) ‘Psychology is the science of conscious experience which is dependent upon the experiencing person’ (Titchner, 1876-1927) Psychology as science of behavior: This is the most accepted definition of psychology in modern era. Behavior according to Woodworth is a collective nature of various types of activities: cognitive, conative and affective corresponding to knowing, doing and feeling. Behavior is classified in the following three categories:
It should be noted that no piece of behavior is purely of one category. It may be having dominance of any one aspects or equal partnership of all three. Psychology as science of behavior has been defined by various Psychologists, some of these definitions are given below: ‘Psychology is a positive science of behavior’ (Watson) ‘Psychology is a science of behavior and experience’ (Skinner) ‘Psychology is concerned with the scientific investigation of behavior’ (Munn) ‘Psychology is the study of human behavior and human relationship’ (Crow and Crow) ‘Psychology is concerned with observable human behavior’ (Garrison and Others) Analysis of Definition If we analyze the definition of psychology given by different psychologists, we shall come to the following conclusions:
Psychology as a Science In the words of Prof Woodworth, ‘psychology can be defined as the science of the activities of the individual in relation to environment’. Let us understand this definition by explaining the various technical terms to justify psychology as a science. Science–psychology is a science. Science is the systematic and methodological study of any breach of knowledge. A study cannot be called as science merely on the basis of its subject matter; what is even more important is the scientific method. It is the method which is science, not the subject matter. Thus, a characteristics feature of science is its method rather than its field of study. Salient features of science are as follows: Scientific Method
So, on the basis of above listed criteria of science, it can be concluded that psychology is a science because;
It should be noted that psychology is a positive empirical science. It is positive because it is concerned with mind and behavior as they actually are. It is empirical because, like other sciences, it uses the method of observation of facts. Activities The second technical term used in Woodworth definition was activities. Psychology studies the activities of the individual. The word activity is used here in a very broad sense. In the word of Woodworth, ‘any manifestation of life can be called activities’. It includes;
Sometimes, these above mentioned activities are classified under three kinds of behavior, i.e. cognitive, conative and affective. Individual Psychology is the science of activities of the individual. Individual is a psychophysical organism (having mind and body). Psychology studies activities of all types of individuals, i.e. children, adolescents, adults, normal person, abnormal person, intelligent person, feeble minded person and even animals. Environment Psychology studies the activities of individual in relation to the environment. Environment refers to all types of circumstances that influence the behavior of an organism since conception to death. Environment may be physical, intellectual, social, moral, economic and political and cultural forces. All these forces have the influence on the activities, behavior and personality of the individual.
So, Psychology can be described as study of the individual which deals with behavior and experience. Individual may be 7human being or animal, child, adolescent, adult, men, women, normal, gifted, backwards, intelligent, dull and feeble minded, behavior can be good or bad, desirable or undesirable, moral or immoral, sociable or unsociable, it becomes the subject matter of psychology. BRANCHES AND FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY (APPLICATION OF PSYCHOLOGY) The entire study and scope of psychology has been divided in the following branches and fields:
SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology is the study of human behavior and experience of individual in relation to its environment. Whatever is concerned with the scientific study of behavior and experience of individual in relation to environment forms the subject matter of psychology. The individual may be man, woman, children, elder, normal, abnormal, social or unsocial, moral or immoral, social or antisocial, it becomes the subject matter of psychology. Thus, we can say that the whole life of an individual in its every manifestation comes under the scope of psychology. Thus, the scope of psychology is very wide in the word of William James, ‘all the chairs of heaven and furniture of the earth ‘fall under the scope of psychology. The following points highlights the scope of psychology:
RELATION OF PSYCHOLOGY WITH OTHER SCIENCES Psychology and Philosophy At one time psychology was concerned with a part and parcel of philosophy. Just recently due to popularity of experimental methods, psychology has moved away from philosophy. Yet there is a close relationship between the two. Both psychology and philosophy attempt to interpret human behavior. Whatever truth philosophy discovers are in fact based on psychology. Even the most important branch of philosophy, i.e. epistemology is based on psychology. Epistemology investigates the origin of knowledge, its nature, validity and the way it is realized. This inquiry is never possible unless help is taken from psychological explanation. The metaphysical (metaphysics—a branch of philosophy) discussion are based on psychological interpretation of natural phenomena. Besides, epistemology and metaphysics, logic and ethics are important branch of philosophy. Difference Between Psychology and Philosophy
Psychology and Physiology Relation between Psychology and Physiology Physiology studies the function of the various organs like stomach, heart and systems, e.g. digestive or circulatory system of the body. Psychology studies the interaction of one system to another and their functions. Psychology is the science of behavior and experience of the individual. Experiences of an individual are deeply connected with physiological process especially in various systems. Hence, psychology studies the physiological process in order to account for mental processes. Various organ of the body, system, muscular and glandular activities influence human behavior in one or another way. ‘Healthy mind lives in a healthy body’ is an ancient and well known proverb. Hence, psychology and physiology are closely related to each other. Differences between Psychology and Physiology
Psychology and Sociology Relation between Psychology and Sociology Psychology intimately is related to sociology. Sociology is the science of society, i.e. of social relationship. It deals with the activities of a group of people taken as a whole. It studies social institution, customs traditions, culture, norms and other groups or behavior, etc. Psychology studies the human behavior which is 15influenced by customs traditions, culture, norms and social factors. Hence, there is considerable overlapping between the province of psychology and sociology.
Difference between Psychology and Sociology
Psychology and Education Education and psychology are two distinct branches of knowledge; though they are closely related. Modern education is based on psychology. Child is imparted education after making a thorough study of his interest, aptitude, intelligence and personality. Without help of psychology various problems of education may not be solved. A preliminary knowledge of psychology has a great impact on various aspects of education. Psychology is the science of behavior. Education is the modification of behavior. Education enables unfolding and developing the powers of the pupil and molding his character, personality and behavioral patterns. It is the process of helping him in making adjustment with social environment. As BN Jha said, ‘education has to depend on psychological findings for what is done and how it is done.’ The knowledge of psychology is helpful in education in following ways:
Psychology and Nursing Nursing is the service to community. Knowledge of psychology helps health professional, i.e. nurses, doctors and other paramedical staff, to deal with patient and family members in a better way. As it is clear now that the behavior of an individual is subject matter of psychology. A sound knowledge of psychological theories and principles helps to understand the complex client behavior in clinical setting and enable to plan strategy to deal it effectively. There is a close relationship between nursing and psychology. Knowledge of psychology helps the students in various perspectives. Relevance of Psychology to Nursing Nurse is the central part of heath care team. A nurse perform varied types of duties and role in clinical setting to promote, restore and maintain health of their patient and significant others. A Nurse 17deals with different types of patients and their significant family members having different mental and physical problems. Thus, in performing the duties of nursing profession, it is very essential for a nurse to be more knowledgeable of different theories and principles of psychology to deal with the individual. The knowledge of psychology helps the nurse in the following ways: To help understand the relatives and significant of others: It is common problem for a nurse to deal the relatives and significant of others in the hospital. It becomes a challenging task to discipline them in agreeing to the hospital rules and having patience for expected outcomes of care. A sound knowledge of psychology may helps a nurse to deal with relatives and significant of others by understanding the reason of unusual behavior at hospital. To help get adjusted to professional environment: It is very difficult for a novice nurse to adjust in hospital environment and with member of health care team. A nurse have to work in team and sometime all alone. The study of psychology will helps a nurse to understand the people around you and enable better adjustment with other health professional and in hospital. To maintain balance between social and professional life: It is very essential for a nurse to maintain balance between social and professional life to provide quality care. The study of psychology helps to understand various aspects of personal, professional and social life and enables to adjust in different circumstances. To help focus on study: Psychology helps a student nurse to focus on study by adhering with the principles, law and theories of perception, attitude, concentration, forgetting and motivation. Sound knowledge of above-mentioned psychological aspects helps a student nurse to achieve desired goals in professional life.18 To help in conducting psychometric assessment: The study of psychology will help a nurse to learn and conduct the various psychometric assessment of the cognitive processes, emotional behavior, attention, personality traits, anxiety, stress and level of adjustment, etc. To provide quality nursing care: An adequate knowledge and information of needs, desires, attitude, likes and dislikes of a patient helps a nurse to provide quality nursing care. The study of psychology may equip a nurse to have sufficient background knowledge of all attributes to take proper professional decision for providing needed nursing care to patient and his well wishers. Community services: Knowledge and understanding of socio-cultural system of various social customs, traditions, taboos, and myths enable a community nurse to render effective community services and promote interpersonal affiliation and emotional integration between and within social group. Promoting guidance and counseling: Knowledge of psychology helps in providing guidance and counseling services to person seeking solutions to their problems in the education, employment and personal life. A good person including nurse tries to understand all essential aspects of behavior and potentialities through various psychological measures and techniques and then suggest and tries possible ways and means to solve the difficulties of the person who has come for guidance and counseling services. To understand development dynamics: By the knowledge of developmental psychology a nurse will be able to understand the various theories of growth and development milestones at various development stages. Promoting mental health and hygiene: A nurse play vital role in promoting good mental health among his/her patients by the application of the knowledge of psychology. She will be able to understand different coping strategies to overcome stress, and various preventive measures to promote mental health and hygiene. For better self-development: Psychology helps the individual to know his/her assets and limitation, abilities and shortcomings, habits and temperament, interest and attitude, etc. The understanding of self may lead one to set the level of his/her aspiration, change habits, seek self-control and strive for his/her adequate development and progress. It may help in proper catharsis and training of emotions, building up proper sentiments and decisions-making abilities and 19self-actualization in order to develop a balanced and integrated personality. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology, as we have pointed out before, is a science of behavior and experience of the individual in relation to environment, being a science, it has a special tools, procedures and or methods which helps in the collection of organization of facts or data. Methods save time, energy, efforts and efficiency. Some psychologists are in the view that because of these methods psychology is a science, and this very thing speaks of the importance of methods. Meaning of method: The teaching method implies the system that we adopt in gaining knowledge of truth. Charles Gide said in this, ‘in scientific language the term ‘method’ is used to designate the road that must be followed to lead the discovery of truth.’ According to Oxford Dictionary, ‘method is a way of having something, system of procedure, orderliness and conscious of regularity etc’ Method and technique: Method is a wide-term than technique. In a method we may have many techniques. For example: free association and dream analysis are techniques of psychoanalytic method of Sigmund Freud. List of Methods of Psychology
Beside these methods, we have certain techniques and test like:
CHIEF METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY Introspection or Subjective Method This is the oldest method of psychology. It could be the study method when psychology was defined as science of consciousness. It is derived from two words: ‘intro’ and ‘spection’. ‘Intro’ means ‘within’ and ‘Spection’ means ‘looking’. Hence, etymologically speaking introspection means ‘looking within’. Woodworth views that introspection is self-observation. Introspection is a developed form of self-consciousness. It can be defined as an inner observation of the mental events by the man himself at the time of occurrence. Advantages of Introspection Simplest and economic: It is one of the most simple and economic method and it does not require any laboratory, costly equipments or any other help because the individual will work as subject as well as object.
Limitations of Introspection
Objective Observation This method of observation is old as introspection. It is also called naturalistic observation. Observation is of two types;
Steps in the observation method
Characteristics of Good Observation
Advantages of Observation Method
Limitations of Observation Method
Though naturalistic observation has certain limitations yet it is considerable good method in the field of child psychology and educational psychology. Experimental Method Experimental method holds the central position in the psychology as well as in other sciences. It is experimentation which has the credit of bringing educational psychology to the level of exact sciences. Hence, modern psychology places the greatest emphasis as experimentation. The experimental method first introduced by William Wundt in 1879 at Leipzig laboratory at Germany. In 1880, Ebbinghaus conducted many experiments on memory. Essential for an Experiment
Symbolically, it can be represented like this Here, X1– Independent variable O – Observation/intervention X2– Dependent variable Steps followed in Psychological Experiments A systematic experiment will follow following steps:
Advantages of Experimental Method
Limitation of Experimental Method
Although experimental method has certain limitations, yet it is very useful in almost all branches of educational psychology as well as in the various aspects of education.26 Psychoanalytic Method The psychoanalytic theory was postulated by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud (1939) who has been called as ‘father of psychiatry’ is credited as the first to identify the development by stages. He believed that an individual's basic charter is formed at an age of 5. Freud categorizes his theory according to following ways:
Structure of Personality Freud organized the structure of personality into three main components; the id, ego and superego.
According to Freud, all human behavior can be understood in terms of the dynamic equilibrium among id, ego and super ego. 27The id demand to satisfy its immediate felt need irrespective of violation of norms of others and society, and ego will help to control the action of id by delaying or compromising the situation. A well balanced personality is governed by the ego and psychopathic by id. The aim of psychoanalysis is to restore the balance, where id was ‘there shall be ego’. Topography of Mind Freud said that human brain is a storehouse of information and on the basis of recall of information; brain is combination of the following three parts:
Psychosexual Stage of Personality Development Freud believed that initial stage of perssonality development is an important predictor of adult personality. He described five stages of personality development also known as psychosexual stage of personality development. He places emphasis on first five year of life and believed characteristics development during these five years had great impact on adult personality. Fixation on early stage of development will almost certainly result in psychopathology.
Clinical Methods It is one of the most important methods of psychology to collect the detailed information on the problem of the maladjustment and deviant cases. This technique borrowed from medical sciences in the field of social sciences. The main objective of this method is to study individual case or cases of groups to detect and diagnose their specific problem in order to suggest therapeutic measure to rehabilitate them in their own environment. To collect data pertaining to case, it utilizes various techniques to compile relevant information which has some direct and indirect links with the problem of case. The case is studied intensively in temporal sequence from birth of the individual to the present manifestation of the problems in overt activities.29 The objective of the clinician is to detect or to go into unconscious of the individual to pinpointing local underlying cases of the problem and to suggest remedial measures. The complete and detailed study of a case may involve the use of observation, interview, medical examination and use of various psychological test, i.e. intelligence, personality, aptitude, interest etc. The clinician collects the information about the case in totality. Common used clinical methods are: The clinical case study: This method is specifically important in various emotional problems, various disabling conditions like physical, speech, learning difficulties, mental illness, delinquency and other behavior problems. Case study method generally used in case of a person suffering from mental disorder or behavioral disorders. It is used to collect the different types of information of the individual to identify the condition influencing his behavior. In other words, in case study method, the past and present situation of the individual is explored to find out the factors influencing his behavior. In this method an attempts is made to explore the cause of present motives or intention of an individual. Hence, it is systematic, complete and intensive history of the individual, his family background, his physical, social, emotional, intellectual and personal development. Nothing is left which is likely having effect on present conditions of the case to develop an in-depth understanding of the case. So, the preparation of case study is not a work of single individual whereas it is a combine adventure of professionals and personals. Some important steps of this method are given here:
These are the tentative list of various sources from which information may be collected to prepare a case history/study. In brief, we can say that case study method helps to understand the root cause of problem and it is very valuable method in suggesting remedial measures to rehabilitate them.30 Developmental case study: Developmental case study or genetic method generally used to collect data in the following time frame pattern to understand development structure of the individual. Longitudinal approach: In this approach information are collected over a period of long time to understand the various changes in the case at different period of interval i.e. from birth to adolescent stage. Cross-sectional approach: In which we select sample from different age level to study the specific aspects of development. Steps Involved in Case Study A psychologist follows following steps in case study method:
Characteristics of a Good Case Study A comprehensive case study should have following characteristics:
Scientific synthesis and analysis: Once the case study is over, the recorded information should be synthesized and analyzed to rule out the diagnosis.31 Uses of Case Study Method
Limitations of Case Study
Correlation Method This is non-experimental research method. A correlation is defined as a relationship between two variables such that when change in one variable leads to change in another variable. For example, there is a strong relationship between the use of drugs in first trimester and development of mental retardation in fetus. The more the use of drug leads to more cognitive disturbance in a child. Differential Method (Survey Method) It is used to study individual difference among individuals. Studies in the field of psychology make an extensive use of statistical 32survey which is based of sampling by collecting data through direct observation. This method makes use of various techniques of collecting data, i.e. test, questionnaire, observation, interview and use of statistic in analyzing the data in order to reach on conclusions. Survey methods are broadly classified in the following three categories which share common features of carrying out their observation on lager size samples belong to defined population.
Limitations of Survey Method Survey method limitations lies under the followings:
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REVIEW QUESTIONS SHORT-ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 1. Who established the psychology lab in German University?
2. Who is father of psychology?
3. ‘The study of the mind should focus on how it allows us to adapt to surrounding’. This statement is proposed by which psychologist?
4. Which of the following perspective is known as third space of psychology?
5. First psychology laboratory established at:
6. Superego is also known as:
7. Which of the following is the most oldest method of psychology?
8. Who introduced the method of introspection?
9. Which of the following method will be used to find the relationship of one variable to another?
10. The literal meaning of word ‘psychology’ is:
11. Who developed Individual psychology?
12. Psychology's major contribution in education lie in:
13. The behaviorists believed:
ANSWER KEY
What do we mean when we say that psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes?Psychologists apply the scientific method to human behaviors and thoughts. Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes. In this definition, "behavior and mental processes" refers to: All the observable actions we do and mental processes like thoughts and feelings.
What is the most accurate definition of the discipline of psychology?The correct answer is a) the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology includes the study of the mind and the behaviors of an individual.
Whats psychology?Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists are actively involved in studying and understanding mental processes, brain functions, and behavior.
Which school of psychology was most concerned with the adaptive importance of mental processes?Cards In This Set. |