Introduction to Psychology
The concern about life is a main human characteristic. No matter if his concern is concentrated in himself or in persons or things that surround him and constitute his environment, everybody wants to know why people, himself included, behave the way they behave. Everybody, also, wants to improve his behavior, so as to live in harmony with himself and the society.
The Greek word Psychology, is a word consisted of the words ψυχή-soul and λόγος-utterance, talk. So, generally, psychology is the science that examines the soul. But , since the psychologists work on the problems of the personal, family, school, professional and social life, we could say, more accurately , that psychology is the science that studies the psychological life of man, as it is revealed in his behavior.
Although psychology seems to be a new science, in fact, is a very old one. Before the 19th century- when psychology acquired its scientific independence- the study of behavior was an aspect of philosophy.
There are two directions of psychology: The first, studies the way human exists or behave (or the way it seems to exist or behave). The second, studies the way human can evolve, can get better. This direction studies the principles, the laws and the facts that rule the possible evolution of man.
During their research, psychologists put into practice the same methods that the natural sciences(math, physics, biology) use, so as to find the truth:
The observations are neat and not aimless
The search for truth is impersonal and the aim of collected information is rather to check than to prove certain ideas
The repetition of the observations can be ex...
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...e present, whereas memory refers to the past. Fantasy and mentality help us to create new things. Sentiments serve our survivor since we are happy when we satisfy our needs and unhappy when we do not satisfy them. Their character is subjective and they constantly change. There are material sentiments, like thirst and hunger, and spiritual sentiments. There are also useful and harmful desires.
Aristotle is the “father” of psychology. He calls psychology “the history of the soul” and he considers it as one of the most important sciences. He doe not agree with Plato that soul is independent, immaterial and supernatural. He believes that soul is a life giving power that is united with body. The body exists as long as soul provides it life. He tries to study the human soul in a scientific way. He agrees about the soul division in mentality, desire and sentimentality.
Who suggested that “we feel sorry because we cry . . . afraid because we tremble”?
3. Because he believes that "real men have no fears," 8-year-old George has difficulty accepting the fact that his father is fearful of losing his job. George's experience is most directly explained by:
The bystander effect refers to the tendency for an observer of an emergency to withhold aid if the:
Chapter 4 discusses the several states of consciousness: the nature of consciousness, sleep and dreams, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation. Consciousness is a crucial part of human experience, it represents that private inner mind where we think, feel, plan, wish, pray, omagine, and quietly relive experiences. William James described the mind as a stream of consciousness, a continuous flow of changing sensations, images thoughts, and feelings. Consciousness has two major parts: awareness and arousal. Awareness includes the awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences. Arousal is the physiological state of being engaged with the environment. Theory of mind refers to individuals understanding that they and others think,
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
3. After her last drinking spree, Karen hid a half-empty liquor bottle. She couldn't remember where she hid it until she started drinking again. Karen's pattern of recall best illustrates:
As you can see, the field of psychology covers a broad scope which overlaps into many different fields. Though the area of social sciences has been questioned for its validity over the years, it is becoming more and more of a trusted tool in many different areas of society.
Psychology began as the study of the soul. Plato believed the soul was an individual’s belief they are separate from, but also connected to their physical and social environments. Aristotle believed the soul was a set of psychological attributes which he referred to as the ‘mind’ (Garcia-Valdecasas, 2005).
The term psychology has many meanings to different people, even to those who work within the psychological field. The word psychology derives from two Greek roots; 'psyche' refers to 'soul' or 'mind' and logo refers to 'the study of'. A more update definition of the word psychology can be found from Atkinson, et al (1991) “The scientific study of behaviours and mental processes.” However on Google Definitions the definition of psychology is “the mental characteristics and attitudes of a person” [accessed 16 September 2011], which gives somewhat of a contradiction. In this assignment I will be outlining and evaluating four key psychological perspectives. The psychological perspectives I have chosen are the behavioural approach, biological approach, cognitive approach and the psychodynamic approach.
Psychology is a social science that aims to study the mind and the behaviors of humans. It aims to understand what drives humans to act the way they do. It differs from sociology and anthropology in that it takes accounts the individual rather than society as a whole.
Psychology is a relatively new field in the realm of the sciences with only about 130 years old. Wilhelm Wundt was known as the “father of psychology” the first psychologist. Wundt was in the philosophy filed in the beginning of his study; later on in his life, he opened the first psychology laboratory. A well known method in Wundt’s experiment was the Introspection, “this was a description of an experience broken down into its simplest terms, its elements” (Watson, Evans 278). William James was one of the most famous founder of American psychology. He was interested in how people are influenced by their environment, “rather than breaking consciousness down into its elements, he preferred to look at the human experience as complete wholes” (McMahon, Judith 8). The most well known and popular psychologist in modern day is Sigmund Freud, an Austrian Physician in the late 1800’s. Freud established the theory of personality, in his view, “problems that appear in adolescence or adulthood can be tranced to things that happened in the first five or six years of life” (McMahon, Judith 7). Freud’s concepts of mind, the conscious, pre-conscious, and the unconscious are still widely used in present books and movies.
In order to be considered a science, Psychology must consequently adhere to using a scientific method. If this were, as usual, taken to mean the accumulation of knowledge through systematic observation or experimentation, Psychology would likely not have an issue in being recognised, however traditional views of a science mean most areas, with the exception of Behaviourism, would not be considered a science in their own right.
The word Psychology comes from two Greek words: Psyche and Logos. The term ?psychology? used early on described the study of the spirit. It was in the 18th century when psychology gained its literal meaning: The study of behaviour. In studies today psychology is defined as the scientific and systematic study of human and animal behaviour. The term psychology has a long history but the psychology as an independent discipline is fairly new.
Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior if the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analyzing to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of Sigmund Freud, launched what is now modern psychology. Psychology and its research helped the world understand the inner workings of the mind and how it affects everyone around us.
Aristotle argued and disagreed with Plato’s views of the self and soul being a separate from the body. Aristotle’s view is that all humans have a soul, yet they cannot be separate from the body in which they reside. To him, there are four sections of the soul; the desiderative and vegetative parts on the irrational side are used to help one find what they are needing and the calculative and scientific parts on the rational side are