Introduction To Psychology 2010

BA I, PAPER A, SECTION A, UNIT I 1
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
NATURE, SCOPE, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, AND BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY
DEFINING PSYCHOLOGY
The term Psychology is derived from two Greek words psyche and logos that mean soul and science
respectively. Thus, etymologically psychology means the science of soul. This definition of Psychology has been
rejected, and now psychology is held to be the science of behavior and cognitive processes. It is important to
understand how and why this change came about.
Psychology is the science of soul

This definition, given by Aristotle, is based on the literal translation of the word psychology. The Greek
philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato gave a very important place to soul in human life. They felt that life has
no meaning without the soul. In Greek times, philosophers studied all aspects of knowledge. Thus, psychology
was regarded as only a branch of philosophy. Their definition of the term persisted over the centuries. In English,
when Rudolf Goeckle first used the term psychology in 1590, he also defined it as the science of soul. However,
as psychology became more scientific, this definition was rejected for the following reasons:
 The concept of soul is very vague. The philosophers could not clarify the origin, nature, or the place of
soul. Some said that the soul is as big as the thumb; others believed it to be the shape and size of the human
body. Yet others said that the soul is as large as the universe. Nor could they explain the relationship
between the soul and the body.
 The concept of soul brings in the concept of God, which is as mysterious as the soul. It has religious
implications that are against the spirit of science, and can retard the development of psychology as a
science.
 Soul is a metaphysical concept beyond experience and knowledge. It cannot be observed, measured,
analyzed, or experimented upon. It cannot be verified. Consequently, it is an unscientific concept.
Psychology is the science of mind

This definition was emphasized by the structural school of psychology who established psychology as a science
distinct from philosophy. Wilhelm Wundt, the father of Experimental Psychology, first established a psychological
laboratory in the University of Leipzig, near Vienna, in 1879, and thus established psychology as a science
distinct from philosophy. His student, Titchener, gave a systematic account of Psychology in his influential book
Experimental Psychology, wherein he defined Psychology as the science of mind. This definition was also
eventually rejected for the following reasons:
 The concept of mind is very vague and ambiguous. Mind may be conceptualized as the whole nervous
system, just the brain, a mental process, the sum total of experience, conscious or unconscious, as a part of
personality, or personality itself. We do not know how it relates to the body.
 Mind is a metaphysical concept that cannot be observed, measured, analyzed, or experimented upon.
It cannot be verified. Mind does not exist as an object. What exists is the brain, which is a part of the body
and not distinct from it. Mind is thus an unscientific concept.
 Mind is restricted to a particular individual, who alone can tell us what is going on in his mind. Others
cannot observe one’s mind. Thus, this definition reduces psychology to an individual, private search within
oneself. Introspection is the only method, which delves into the mind, but introspection has been shown to
be a faulty method.
 Titchener reduced mind to three elements – sensation, affection, and images. However, he did not
clarify how these elements were made up and what principles of organization they followed.
 The definition of psychology as a science of mind not includes overt behaviors of human beings,
particularly their social behavior, that is a major topic of study in psychology nowadays.
 This definition also excludes the study of animals, abnormals and children, who cannot tell us what is
going on in their mind.
Psychology is the science of consciousness

William James the philosopher, who was the harbinger of functionalism, defined psychology as the science of
consciousness. This definition is based on the fact that we are always aware of mental and motor behavior, and
whatever exists outside awareness does not exist for the individual. However, this definition was rejected
because:
 There is little agreement on the meaning of consciousness. Moreover, it is difficult to measure
consciousness in quantitative terms. A concept that cannot even be measured cannot be experimented upon
and hence is unscientific.
 Consciousness, like mind, is a subjective concept, and hence can be studied through introspection only.
It is not open to experimental investigations.
 The psychoanalytic school maintains that 90% of the individual mind is unconscious. Consciousness is
only the tip of the iceberg, the rest of the mind is submerged and hidden, not only from others but also the
individual himself. If we define psychology only as the study of consciousness, we fail to understand a large
part of the behavior of the individual that springs from the unconscious.
 This definition also excludes the study of animals, abnormals, children, and groups, who are either not
aware of the reality around them or cannot report on it. Their consciousness cannot be studied, and this
reduces the scope of psychology.
Psychology is the science of behavior

Watson, the founder of behaviorism, popularized this definition. By behavior, he meant overt behavior that could
be independently observed and experimented upon. He felt that all phenomena that cannot be observed should
be banished from psychology. Thus, he did not include thinking, imagination, creativity, motivation etc. in
Psychology. Taking his cue from Watson, Skinner emphasized the experimental analysis of behavior. He felt that
all behavior should be reduced to the elementary, basic level of stimulus, response, and reinforcement, so that it
can be measured precisely and studied scientifically. The definition of psychology as the science of behavior
prevailed through most of the last century. However, it was not without its problems:
 The advent of computers since the 1930s led to the cognitive revolution in psychology in the 1960s.
Showing a revival of interest in the cognitive processes, which cannot be directly observed, many
psychologists worked in the areas of thinking, memory, intelligence, problem solving, etc. These
psychologists were not satisfied with the definition of psychology as a science of behavior.
 The gestalt school and the humanistic school, both of whom emphasize the global, molar level of
behavior, have criticized the reductionist view of behavior. They feel that psychology should study all
aspects of human behavior in totality, specially the aspects that are unique to human beings such as their
intelligence, their tendency to form social bonds, and above all their striving for self actualization.
Today psychology is in a state of flux. The links with behaviorism have not been broken, but new advances have
been made in the area of cognition. Currently, psychologists define psychology as the science of human
behavior and cognitive processes. Some specific definitions are:
1. Lahey (1998): “Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes.”
2. M. Eysenck (2000): “Psychology is the science that makes use of behavioral and other evidence to
understand the internal processes leading people and members of other species to behave in the ways they
do.”
3. Baron (2001): “Psychology is best defined as the science of behavior and cognitive processes.”
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Psychology is today generally defined as a positive science of behavior. Science is not a set of principles, it is not
technology or advancement, and it is not the use of mathematics. Rather it is a way of thinking which is based
on the experimental method. The idea that theories should be tested out in the real world in an experiment is
the essence of science. Science cannot exist without the scientific method. Science has certain goals,
assumptions and particular methods. Psychology is a science because it shares the goals, assumptions and
methods of science.
Goals of science shared by Psychology

The goals of science shared by the Psychology are in a hierarchy. They are:
 Description: In Psychology, examples of description come from the area of motivation, personality etc.
Murray has given a taxonomy of 20 needs such need for achievement, need for power, need for dependence
etc. Maslow has given a hierarchy of needs. If the lower needs are satisfied, only then are the higher needs
manifested in behavior. Cattell describes personality in terms of 16 source factors, whereas Eysenck uses
only three dimensions.
 Explanation: Ultimately science is a search for the causes of phenomena. Psychology uses various
methods to uncover the causes of behavior. For example, Skinner uses reinforcement as an explanation for
learning. According to Skinner learning is not possible without reinforcement.
 Prediction: Prediction finds an example in almost all psychological experiments where conditions are
manipulated to achieve certain results e.g. a research may predict that due to training, there will be
decrease in the time taken by a rat to run through a maze. Similarly in our daily lives, phenomena can be
predicted using psychological principles. E.g. Yerkes Dodson Law states that an optimum level of arousal is
necessary for good performance. This can be seen during exams where highly aroused students do not
perform well and neither do those who are low in arousal. In fact, it is students with a moderate level of
arousal who our-perform the others.
 Control/ Influence: Control has been achieved in the psychology laboratory to quite a great extent. In
real life situations, it is difficult to control human behavior though it is not impossible. Many aspects of
human behavior are controlled. E.g. Teachers use the principle of learning and reinforcement to control the
behavior of students; clinical psychologists try to manipulate the behavior of their patients. Similarly,
criminologists change behavior of criminals and prisoners using psychological principles. Nevertheless
controlling every single person in a desired way is not possible.
Assumptions of Science shared by Psychology:-

 Determinism: It implies that every phenomenon has a natural cause that can be discovered through the
appropriate means. Effects are not attributed to chance, God, etc. in scientific explanations.
 Invariance: The relationship between various phenomena remains the same from time to time and place
to place, if all other conditions remain the same. E.g. the psychological principle that a certain amount of
practice leads to improvement in a particular task remains true. However, if this principle has been originally
derived on normal individuals, it may not apply in the same way to mentally retarded individuals or highly
creative persons.
 Empiricism: Empiricism is the idea that only the knowledge gained through senses is valid. This implies
that mental ideas are tested out in the real world. If the observation in the real world do not confirm to our
mental ideas then the idea is wrong. Scientific laws and principles are based on experiments. E.g., Practice
leads to learning is a mental idea which can be easily demonstrated in a laboratory on animals or in a
classroom situation with children.
 Operationism: It is a principle that all scientific concepts must be defined in a measurable way. E.g. for
defining beauty various aspects can be considered like physical walking style, hair etc.
 Objectivity: Science assumes objectivity on the part of the scientists. This implies that personal biases,
prejudices or ideas of the scientists in no way effect the design, result, and interpretation of his experiments.
Objectivity is perhaps the most important assumption of science because it leads to the self-corrective
nature of science. The fact that science corrects itself as it finds that it’s principles or laws do not conform to
the real world or there is a different, simpler theory explaining the same phenomenon (Law of Parsimony). In
Psychology, a very good example of objectivity comes from Hull. In 1936 he stated that motivation comes
from drive alone. However in 1951, he revised his theory because of evidence that incentives were also
powerful motivating factors. Another example is of Milgram (1949), a Jew psychologist persecuted by
Germans. He started a research programme to find whether the Germans are more authoritarian than other
nationalities or not. However, his well-designed research showed that this was not true. Germans were no
different from other in their obedience to authority. Most people blindly confirm to authoritarian orders,
sometimes even going against universal moral values.
Scientific Method shared by Psychology

According to Kerlinger (1986), “Scientific research is a systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation
of natural phenomena guided by theory and hypothesis about the presumed relations among such phenomena”.
This definition emphasizes the following characteristics of scientific research:
 Systematic: Scientific research is a rule bound procedure. Sometimes, based on specific data we frame a
general law. This is the process of inductive reasoning (specific to general). Conversely, at times we derive
specific information or hypotheses on the basis of a general law. This is called deductive reasoning (general
to specific). Thus scientific research is not haphazard.
 Controlled: Control implies manipulating the independent variable to see its effect on the dependent
variable. At the same time, other potential variables are held constant. Greater the control, more exact the
results and more do they conform to the truth.
 Empirical: Scientific research implies the experimental method. All mental ideas are tested out in the
real world.
 Critical Investigation: The term critical investigation implies that scientific research is a strict and object
evaluation of existing laws and principles (theories). It is based on objectivity on the part of the scientists
and leads to the self-corrective nature of science. The aim of scientific research is to uncover the
relationships among phenomenon. Thus, the investigation needs to be critical and not biased in a pre-
determined way.
 Investigation of natural phenomena: Essentially, scientists are curious about naturally occurring
phenomena and it is this curiosity, which leads them to the more complex phenomena. Sometimes they
even experiment and invent new things or phenomena to study. Nevertheless the search starts from
naturally occurring phenomenon and results of the search have to be relevant to the natural phenomenon.
 Guided by theory and hypotheses: Scientific research is not based on hunches. Rather research is based
on hypotheses which may be based on theories and existing data.
 Presumed relations among phenomena: Scientific research seeks to understand various phenomena by
putting them in relation to each other. The scientist always tries to structure his environment in terms of an
interrelated system. One special case of relationships is a causal relationship in which the cause and effect
relationship between a two phenomena is studied in experiments.
Essentially, the scientific procedure involve a gap in knowledge, research and review of previous ideas regarding
the gap, framing the problem in specific terms so that it can be solved, framing a possible answer to the
problem (hypothesis), conducting the test of the hypothesis, finding the results, and finally interpreting the
results, which in turn gives feedback to the original gap in the knowledge which is now narrowed down.
One may conclude that psychology as a science is a systematic search for laws governing an individual’s
relationship with his environment and the application of such principles and laws to daily life.
Problems of Psychology
Psychology is not a complete science i.e. it cannot predict and control behavior to the same extent as physical
sciences because its subject matter is a human being. The fact that psychology deals with human behavior leads
to the following problems:
 Availability of human subjects: In earlier times, it was thought that human beings are sacred and hence
should not be studied. Many people still believe that the human mind should not be studied because if it is
studied, eventually we will want to control it, which is against human dignity and individualism and is hence
not an attractive idea. Even if human beings are not considered sacred and the researcher decides to study
human behavior, subjects do not want to spare the time and effort for psychological research. It is a tough
job getting the subject to the laboratory at all.
 Social desirability: even if the subject is willing to participate in a research program, there is no
guarantee that he will reveal his real self to the researcher. Psychological research is a social interaction
between the researcher and the subject. The subject desires, consciously and unconsciously, to show his
good self to the researcher. This is the factor of social desirability. Instead of giving true answers, the subject
gives good answers.
 Subjectivity of the researcher: The researcher herself is a human being. She has her own motivations,
desires, attitudes, personality, and intelligence. In all sciences, these qualities influence the research
process. However, in psychology, they assume even greater importance because all psychological research
is an interaction with the subject who is going to be influenced by these characteristics of a researcher.
These characteristics may also unknowingly influence the design and conduct of the experiment or the
interpretation of the results. Thus, the subjectivity of a researcher is an important problem in psychological
research.
 Complexity of Human Life: It is difficult to predict human behavior because it is complex. Human beings
are the most complex organism on earth. Consequently, their behavior is difficult to manipulate, understand,
and predict. The predictor is himself a part of the human race. Secondly, human life is complex because man
exists in a society and his behavior is largely determined by social norms. Thirdly, human life is complex
because of a rapid pace of change.
 The problem of generalization from the laboratory: This problem is perhaps unique to experimental
psychology, not shared by other branches of psychology, The laboratory is an artificial situation. Many
experimental effects are weak. Moreover they are obtained under ideal conditions. It is questionable how far
the laws and principles generated in the rather simple situation of the laboratory are applicable in the
complex real world. In the real world, interaction between various factors is the rule rather than the
exception. But such interactions are difficult, if not impossible, to study in the laboratory. Experimental
psychologists have tried to overcome this problem by conducting field experiments. Thus they have traded
control for realism. This has made experimental laws less reliable but more valid. However, it has also
decreased the “pure science” nature of psychology.
 Animal Research: Since research on human being has the above stated problems, and some researches
may also be stressful to human beings, some researchers feel it is easier to conduct research on animals.
However, it is difficult to generalize results from animals to human beings except for laws governing very
simple basic behaviors such as learning.
 The problem of ethics: All Psychological research involves manipulating human behavior. There are
people who believe that manipulation or control of human behavior is against human freedom and dignity.
Nevertheless, psychologists believe:
(i) When manipulation is done for good ends, and if the research program involves informed consent and
debriefing then psychological research is justified.
(ii) Secondly, freedom, dignity, and other such terms are myths. Skinner, in his book Beyond Freedom and
Dignity shows how almost all aspects of life and behavior are controlled by their consequences. He holds that
control and manipulation of behavior is an inalienable part of human life. Freedom and Dignity are mere
words. When we exercise control for the benefit of human race we are not against human hangs, we are for
them.
Place of Psychology in Science

As scientists, psychologists do not always agree on whether they are allied with the natural sciences or social
sciences. If we turn to the history of psychology for a solution, we find that psychology evolved due to the
interaction between natural sciences and epistemology (a branch of philosophy which studies knowledge).
Wundt was a physicist by training, but he also served as a laboratory assistant to Helmholtz, widely considered
the greatest physiologist of all times. Not surprisingly it is often said that if philosophy is the mother of
psychology, then physiology is the father. However, despite his training Wundt worked on psychophysical
problems i.e. how the mind responds to the sensations received by the sense organs from the external physical
environment. Thus, experimental psychology is the synthesis of mental philosophy, physiology, and physics.
Watson, in his quest to make psychology even more scientific, decided that psychology should study only overt
behavior. Nevertheless, soon after the beginning of psychology, psychologists became impatient with the
restricted scope of psychology and broadened it to include social, cultural and inter-personal problems. The
experimental method was then applied to these aspects of human life as well. Despite similar aims and
assumptions, psychology as a natural science differs from psychology as a social science:
PSYCHOLOGY AS A NATURAL SCIENCE PSYCHOLOGY AS A SOCIAL SCIENCE
Believes in physiology as the basis of human behavior Do not favor physiological explanations. They
emphasize environmental/cultural factors.
Focus on the individual apart from the society. Focus on the individual in the context of society,
particularly the relationship of individual with other
people.
Emphasizes on past factors in present behavior. Emphasizes the contemporary factors to explain
behaviour.
It must be understood that the physiological and social are only two aspects of the same individual. The future
will decide if psychology becomes a part natural science or joins the camp of social sciences or simply remains
as it is.
SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is primarily interested in human beings. The unit of analysis for a psychologist is the individual
organism. In this regard Psychology differs from other social sciences such as anthropology, sociology, political
science etc. that study behavior of groups.
Various aspects of human being are studied in psychology. Both internal and external processes are of interest
to a psychologist. Watson repeatedly reiterated that psychology should focus only on overt processes, and
internal, mental processes should be banished from psychology. But mental processes made a comeback with
the cognitive revolution in psychology. Internal processes such as thinking imagination etc. can be studied only
as the organism gives a verbal report about them. The experimenter can directly observe external processes
such as psychomotor performance, social interaction, and communication. However, to explain such externally
observed behavior, psychologists use intervening variables such as motives attitudes, value etc. which intervene
in the connection between the stimulus and response (S-R). All intervening variables explain the S-R connection
and are generally internal to the individual. They are inferred from the external behavior of the person. E.g., if a
person is cooking food and then eats it, one might infer that he performs this action because he has a hunger
drive, he likes the dish, he has a habit of eating food at that particular time, or that there is no one else to cook
for him. It is obvious that the same overt behavior may lead to variety of inferences depending upon the training
and orientation of psychologist. Psychology is essentially the study of intervening variables.
The behavior which of interest to psychologist has three aspects: Affective, Cognitive, and Conative. The
affective aspect of behavior includes motivation, attitudes, emotions, values etc. Both motivation and emotion
refer to a stirred up state of organism. There are correlated psychological changes in the organism, which can
be directly observed and measured. E.g. when a person is angry, the blood pressure rises which can be
measured by sphygmomanometer. The cognitive aspect of behaviour is traditionally the focus of the cognitive
Psychologist. It includes processes such as attention, sensation, perception, learning, thinking and imagination,
memory, and creativity. Sensation is mere reception of stimulus energy from the environment. Attention implies
awareness of certain stimuli. It is the focusing of mental energy. Perception implies giving meaning to the
sensations received. Learning is a change in behavior due to past experience. Thinking involves acquiring
concepts and using them to solve problems, to imagine news ideas, and to communicate with others through
language. Memory implies recalling what has happened earlier. Creativity implies doing something new with the
knowledge that has already been acquired. It is a unique human quality, which combines all the processes
mentioned before and indeed something extra. These cognitive processes are all being currently investigated.
The third aspect of behavior is the conative aspect, which includes the actions of the individual. All aspects are
finally manifested in action. They can be inferred only through an observation of the actions and reactions of the
individual to the environment. Actions are both psychological and physiological in nature. Psychomotor
performance refers to development of organized patterns of muscular activities guided by changing signals from
the environment. In essence, individual behavior is always psychomotor, at times dominated by the
psychological aspect and at other times dominated by the motor aspect. E.g. standing still is a motor aspect and
thinking at the same time is the psychological aspect. The study of conative aspect of behavior is important to
understand how an individual responds to the environment.
Despite these three aspects of behavior the individual acts as an organized integrated whole. This implies the
existence of personality. Personality is an organization of traits, which makes each person unique. Traits made
us like all others, like some others and like no others. Depending on their theoretical orientation, psychologists
focus on the common or the unique characteristics of the individual. The former is known as the nomothetic
approach and the latter is known as the idiographic approach. With increasing impact of experimentation, the
behavioral/situational approach to personality has emerged, which uses an experimental analysis of behavior to
study personality.
All psychologists study the individual in relation to the environment. Social psychologists are particularly
interested in the individual in the context of society. Social Psychology studies behavior at three levels:
 Individual
 Interpersonal
 Group
The relationship of the individual with the socio cultural environment is studied under various headings such as
socialization, social perception, attitudes, values, prejudices, social interaction communication etc. Individual
who fails to adapt to the social demands, who deviate from the social norms are the subject matter of abnormal
psychology which studies the causes, symptoms and cures for abnormal behavior. In fact, the principles and
laws derived from the laboratory are usually applied to cure and manage abnormal behavior.
In their search to understand the human beings, psychologists often use animals. Animal behavior reflects
human behavior in a simpler, more manageable way. Moreover, research which cannot be carried out human
beings for ethical reasons or because it may be dangerous to them is done on animals. Animal experiments
have helped psychologists to understand processes such as learning, motivation, perception, memory etc. More
recently, animal research has been carried out not only for comparative purposes, but for the sake of studying
animals behavior itself. The insight gained by such research is used to rear animals, train them for various
purposes, and to help to save endangered species of animals.
Application of knowledge gained about human and animal behavior is the essence of psychology. The principles
and facts collected by psychologists are applied to diverse areas such as law, education, medicine, industry,
organizations, sports, army or military aviation, spare flights, community services, social integration,
planned social change etc. In the very recent years a reverse trend has also started, whereby all
applications of psychological principles are evaluated using single group designs, to study change in
behavior from the pre-test to the post-test (taken after the application). Thus the scope of psychology has
led tremendously over the last few decades and it is likely to increase further as human beings by to
understand themselves more and more and apply this knowledge for the benefit of mankind.
BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
The broad reach of psychology sometimes gives it the appearance of disunity and promotes the lack of a
universally accepted theoretical structure. The issues studied by psychologists cover a wide spectrum,
comprising learning, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, perception, personality, mental disorders, and
the study of the extent to which individual differences are inherited or are shaped environmentally. Some of the
divisions within psychology are applied fields, while others are more experimental in nature. Thus psychology
has two aspects: pure science and applied. Based on specialization within psychology the following branches of
psychology may be distinguished:
Pure science branches of psychology
General Psychology: It studies the fundamental principles of human behavior. It deals particularly with normal
adults. It studies three aspects of behavior: cognitive, conative and affective, implying the thinking, acting, and
motivating aspects of human behavior. The scope of general psychology includes attention, perception,
learning, intelligence personality etc. It makes use of introspection, observation, and experimentation as the
methods of psychological investigation.
Physiological Psychology: It studies psychological processes, which directly affect an individual’s behavior. It is
the study of physiological processes in relation to human behavior and mental life. These processes are studied
from the psychological standpoint, because it is very important to know how they affect the mind and how in
turn the mind affects the body. Various areas of interest are the nervous system, sensations, muscles and
endocrine glands. Now many psychologists interpret human behavior based on biochemical changes in the
body. Pinel (1990) has advocated the use of the term Biopsychology to describe this study. Biopsychology
primarily uses the method of experiment.
Comparative Psychology: This is the study of differences and similarities in behaviour among men and also
between man and animal. The primary aim of comparative psychology is to study individual differences in
detail. Secondly with the help of experiments on animals, one can compare the animal mind with the human
mind. The laws determined on the basis of animal behaviour can then be generalized to human beings because
sometimes the human mind is not available for experiments. Thus comparative psychology, primarily interested
in individual differences, uses the experimental method to study behaviour.
Genetic Psychology: Genes are the basic unit of heredity, which carry information from the parents to the
offspring. Genes determine many diverse behaviors throughout the lifespan of the individual. Genes determine
not only the physical characteristics but also psychological characteristics such as intelligence, emotionality,
sociability, level of arousal etc. E.g. intelligence is determined by heredity up to an extent of about 80%. Genetic
Psychology also known as behaviour genetics, studies how much genetic potential is expressed during a
lifetime. It studies what we inherit and what we acquire. It also studies how inheritance is modified in various
ways. How do we become what we are, what factors determine character, personality and intelligence – in
short, Genetic Psychology concerns itself with the relationship between genes and behavior. Its favored method
of investigation is experimentation.
Developmental Psychology: The problems of Genetic Child Psychology are subsumed under Developmental
Psychology. This branch studies the growth or development of the child from conception till death.
Developmental Psychology studies emotional, cognitive, social, moral, and physical development across the
lifespan of the individual. It studies the problem of individual difference in learning, personality, intelligence etc.
and how these differences are related to heredity and environment of the person. It also helps to understand
maladjustments, which come from childhood experiences. Developmental Psychology mainly uses two kinds of
research methods:
Cross-Sectional studies which study different groups of individual of the same age.
Longitudinal studies which study the same sample of individuals over a period of time, studying them at various
stages of life.
Social Psychology: During the period between the two world wars psychology became extremely interested in
the individual as a part of the society. Social Psychology was the result of this interest. Its main aim is to study
the relation between the individual and society. It studies topics such as the formation of groups, their structure
and function, individual behavior in groups, attitudes, prejudices, social perception, social interaction and
communication. Social psychology is also specially interested in the application of Psychology to diverse areas
of social life such as social groups, organizations, institution, informal groups etc. It uses a special method of
study called the field experiment.
Abnormal Psychology: An important branch of psychology. It deals with the behavior of persons who deviate
from the norms of a particular social group. These people are below average in their adjustment to social norms.
Abnormal Psychology is concerned with mental health and peculiar behavior of people, broadly classified in four
categories:
 Psychoneuroses
 Psychoses
 Mental Retardation
 Anti Social personalities
Abnormal Psychology deals with unusual phases and processes of mind such as dreams, illusions, hallucination,
delusions and amnesia. The method used by Abnormal Psychology includes the traditional case history method
in which abnormality was understood by focusing on a single individual. More recently experimental
investigations involving comparisons between various groups as well as correlational studies have started to
dominate the field.
Psychoanalysis: Many people consider psychoanalysis to be a branch of medicine or sub specialty in Psychiatry.
However psychoanalysis is also considered a school of psychology with it’s own set of concepts and their
application. The founder of this branch was Sigmund Freud. Later on Jung, Adler and neo – Freudians such as
Horney, Sullivan and Erikson added to, and modified the basic concepts and applications. Psychoanalysis is also
a method of treatment of abnormal people. It’s concepts and ideas have been applied to diverse fields such as
art, architecture, literature etc. However it has been criticized because it does not use the scientific method of
experimentation as the basis for its concepts. Instead it uses the case history method to support its arguments.
Even if it is not very scientific, it provides the most interesting literature in Psychology.
Parapsychology: It has come into its own very recently. It deals with problems such as extra sensory
perception, auto kinesis, telepathy etc. For a number of years, parapsychology was not given recognition as a
branch of psychology because it was considered a pseudo science. Its data was collected through the anecdotal
method and stray impressions of people. However, recent researchers who have tried to study the phenomena
of parapsychology have given a scientific and experimental touch to the treatment of data. In USA, Dr. Rhine is
studying parapsychology. The Universities of London and Cambridge also work in this area. In India, the Institute
of Parapsychology has been established in Rajasthan under Dr. Banerjee and Dr. Sinha. Studies are also
conducted in the Panjab University. Thus it is now emerging as a respectable branch of Psychology.
Folk Psychology: The branch of psychology which studies folk culture is becoming very important, particularly in
developed countries. Folk Psychology is the study of tradition, cultures, superstitions, mythology, music and
religion of various cultures. It also makes cross-cultural comparisons. Perhaps for this reason it is now known as
cross cultural psychology or international psychology. It encourages participation in intercultural research,
discussions of effective assessment and treatment models in working with particular cultures, and a better
understanding of the sort of psychological problems which predominate in a given region of the world.
Animal Psychology: Animal Psychology studies animal behaviour in particular and not for the purpose of
generalization to human beings. Animal Psychology uses the experimental method of study. The principles of
Animal Psychology are frequently applied to train animals for advertisements, circuses etc. It has also helped a
great deal in focusing attention on animal behaviour and has helped to save many animals from extinction.
Philosophical Psychology: encourages and facilitates informed exploration and discussion of psychological
theories and issues in both their scientific and philosophical dimensions and interrelationships. Its major area of
interest is the history and philosophy of psychology. It is a distinct way of thinking about psychology.
Experimental Psychology: It is that branch of psychology, which uses experiments and quantitative methods
extensively. Wilhelm Wundt established the first laboratory in Leipzig. He is known as the Father of
Experimental Psychology. The major areas of interest are learning, motivation, and memory. These phenomena
are studied under controlled conditions so that experiments can be repeated if desired. Rules and principles
derived from experimental psychology are applied in almost all other branches of psychology including applied
psychology.
Applied Aspect of Psychology
The application of psychological principles and facts to other fields of life is called Applied Psychology. Applied
Psychology emphasizes prediction and control of phenomena but not without description and explanation. The
knowledge of psychological principles is being utilized these days in all spheres of life – from domestic to
international affairs. The direct aim of Applied Psychology is to provide the means for achieving the universal
goals of human beings. Applied Psychology is extended to education, medicine, commercial, law, industry,
propaganda etc. The clearly defined aspects of Applied Psychology are:
Educational Psychology It is concerned with the application of psychological principles to the problem of
educating students i.e. the problem of classroom teaching, learning, discipline, administration, conduct of the
members of staff, etc. Generally the problems of educational psychology are classified as learning and testing
i.e. the measurement of what the learner has learnt and the suitability of the methods of teaching to the learner.
While investigating the conditions of learning, psychologists are confronted with the problems of maturation and
development of behavior. Educational psychology covers memory, language, thinking, formation of concepts
etc. It also studies the problems of student’s life, their adjustments with teachers and vice-versa. It throws light
on educational methods and new techniques with the help of which teachers can impart knowledge in a
systematic and interesting way.
Industrial and Organisational Psychology: Psychology applied to industry and organizations is mainly concerned
with commerce and business. Industrial Psychology deals with the problems of workers, laborers, and their
satisfaction from jobs, conditions of work, and enhancement of production and efficiency. Organizational
Psychology is chiefly concerned with the higher-level managers, their motivation, personality, work style,
training leadership behavior etc. Other areas of interest of Industrial and Organisational Psychology include
personnel selection, their training, leadership, communication, salesmanship, advertisements, marketing,
consumer behavior etc. In fact all issues concerning labour and capital, studied from the psychological
perspective, fall within the scope of Industrial and Organisational Psychology.
Clinical psychology: It is that branch of psychology that studies various mental disorders, their causes,
symptoms and different kinds of therapies and medication that they require. Perhaps it is the oldest branch of
Applied Psychology. Currently, Clinical Psychology also studies the trends of urbanization, over population, war,
migration, civil war, refugees, terrorism, etc. all of which contribute to the stress of modern life which is the
single major reason for the origin of psychopathology. Clinical Psychology has a special interest in
psychotherapy, which is used to treat the patients.
Counseling and Vocational Guidance: One of the most valuable applications of psychology is in the field of
vocational guidance. Psychology helps young men and women to choose their career according to their talent
and capacity. Thus universities, colleges, industrial centers and employment exchanges, profit by using
psychologists who work in this area. Counseling is the essence of guidance. It can be merely informative or
therapeutic i.e. it cam remove the difficulties and problems that arise in the life of a normal individual.
Health Psychology: It seeks to advance contributions of psychology to the understanding of health and illness
through basic and clinical research, education, and service activities and encourages the integration of
biomedical information about health and illness with current psychological knowledge. It deals with physical
rather than psychological illnesses.
Legal Psychology: Psychology has been used in the field of law and justice. It helps in detection of crime and
criminals, to find if the witness is telling the truth and helps in management and rehabilitation of criminals. In
general, since law deals with human behavior, an appreciation of psychology is useful for judges, lawyers,
witnesses and all others who are concerned with law and justice.
Psychology and the armed forces: The armed forces use psychology extensively and employ a large number of
psychologists. The recruitment and selection process uses psychological tests. Psychological principles are used
during training. During war (and even in peace) propaganda techniques are extensively used to keep the force
motivated. An understanding of psychology also helps in rehabilitating military personnel in civilian life after
retirement.
Space Psychology: Psychology has been involved with the Space Programs of all nations right from the
beginning. The recruitment and training of personnel is an obvious area of contribution. Confinement in the
small area of the spacecraft for long periods of time creates stress that has to be understood and dealt with.
Psychologists are also interested in the effects of outer space on the functioning of human mind and body.
Psychology and the Arts: Psychology is committed to interdisciplinary scholarship, both theoretical and
empirical, encompassing the visual arts, poetry, literature, music, and dance. Broadly conceived, it studies three
interrelated topics: creativity (including developmental, motivational, affective, and cognitive processes), the
arts (including aesthetic content, form, and function), and audience response to the arts (including preferences
and judgments). To this end, personality, clinical, cognitive, perceptual, cultural, and postmodern psychologies
are applied to diverse artists, styles, and epochs
Sports Psychology: Recently Psychologists have been engaged in the area of sports to increase the morale and
efficiency of sports persons. Psychologists generally use selection techniques and various methods of training to
increase the performance of sportspersons. They also indulge in counseling to clarify the complexes within the
personality and to increase the morale, the need for achievement and assertion so that ultimately the
sportspersons’ performance is not hampered by his inner fears and anxieties. Psychologists have also helped to
make the rules fairer and more stringent in various sports.
Environmental Psychology: A relatively new area of psychology, it is specifically addressed to environmental

protection through a study of man’s relation to the environment and his attempts to master it. It studies
phenomena such as
crowding, pollution, protection of the environment, destruction of habitats of man and animals due to
environmental or man-made causes, natural calamities and their effects, environmental perception and
cognition, loneliness, stress, and environmental design etc. Interventions in these areas are also designed,
tested, and applied.
Psychometrics: It implies measurement of psychological phenomena or traits to assess the person as

compared to other similar persons. Psychometricians devise new tools for data collection, analysis, and new
designs for experimental research to study individual differences. This further helps to decide the psychiatric
conditions of the person, the selection of the person for job or training, the suitability of a person in a particular
job and in general to give self-knowledge to the individual. Most governments employ the services of
psychometricians for different public service selections especially for selection to the armed forces. Frequently
the individual is assessed on a battery of tests such as intelligence, personality, motivation, aptitude, skills, and
creativity tests to give a global assessment of the individual so that he is able to actualize his inherent potential.
Psychology and socioeconomic progress: Psychologists are increasingly working for human welfare directly by
involving themselves in issues related to all mankind and not one or few persons particularly. Psychologists are
intensely interested in issues such as war, violence, poverty, over population, etc. In these areas psychologists
help by their insight into human behavior so that planned social change can be brought about with respect to
these issues.
Consulting Psychology: These psychologists share an interest in the consultative process including applied
activities, research and evaluation, and education and training. The most practical aspect of psychology, it is
concerned with consultation skill, theory and knowledge development, and dissemination.
Thus psychology is studied and applied to enhance human life in diverse areas. In fact the premier organization
of psychology, the American Psychologists’ Association lists 53 divisions of psychology, each with a distinct area
of interest.
1. Society for General Psychology
2. Society for the Teaching of Psychology
3. Experimental Psychology
4. There is no Division 4
5. Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
6. Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology
7. Developmental Psychology
8. Society for Personality and Social Psychology
9. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues - SPSSI
10. Psychology and the Arts
11. There is no Division 11
12. Society of Clinical Psychology
13. Consulting Psychology
14. Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
15. Educational Psychology
16. School Psychology
17. Counseling Psychology
18. Psychologists in Public Service
19. Military Psychology
20. Adult Development and Aging
21. Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology
22. Rehabilitation Psychology
23. Society for Consumer Psychology
24. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology
25. Division of Behavior Analysis
26. History of Psychology
27. Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology
28. Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse
29. Psychotherapy
30. Psychological Hypnosis
31. State Psychological Association Affairs
32. Humanistic Psychology
33. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
34. Population and Environmental Psychology
35. Society for the Psychology of Women
36. Psychology of Religion
37. Child, Youth, and Family Services
38. Health Psychology
39. Psychoanalysis
40. Clinical Neuropsychology
41. American Psychology-Law Society
42. Psychologists in Independent Practice
43. Family Psychology
44. Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues
45. Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues
46. Media Psychology
47. Exercise and Sport Psychology
48. Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence: Peace Psychology Division
49. Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy
50. Addictions
51. Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
52. International Psychology
53. Clinical Child Psychology
54. Society of Pediatric Psychology
55. American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy.
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Ebbinghaus’s comment written in 1885 holds true to this day – “Psychology has a long past and (going back to
the Greeks) but only a short history (from 1860 0r 1879 to present)”. Psychology has been studied since the
time of Aristotle. The Greeks studied human behaviour as a part of their general search for knowledge. But
Aristotle and his fellow Greeks used a method that we now refer to as armchair theorizing or a priori thinking.
They made certain assumptions about the nature of phenomena and then tried to extend their knowledge by
careful logical reasoning from these assumptions. Greeks were the first group of people to become interested in
knowing about people simply for the sake of knowing. But Greek understanding of human behaviour was very
limited, partly because Greeks were pioneers, but also because of their defective method of obtaining
knowledge. This inefficient approach persisted all through the Roman period, the dark ages, and the middle age
and well into the modern times. It was only about 150 years ago that the first significant break with this tradition
occurred. And thus, it is indeed true that psychology has a short history, for actually it started as a science
distinct from philosophy only when it adopted the experimental method and seceded from philosophy.
In 1850s, Fechner, a German, began experiments on the relation between the stimulus that arouses a sense
organ and the resulting sensation. Some years later, one of his students, Wilhelm Wundt, broadened the field by
applying Fechner's method to other problems. The beginning of modern Psychology is often traced to the book
Elemente Der Psychophysik written by Fechner in 1860 or the opening of the first psychological laboratory by
Wilhelm Wundt in 1879. By 1900, the experimental method had been applied to almost all areas in Psychology.
Various viewpoints regarding the subject matter developed into the various schools of psychology. The history of
Psychology can be studied from these various perspectives as follows:
1. Associationism: The philosophers such as Aristotle, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hartley, James
Mill, J.S Mill, and Alexander Bain etc are classified as older associationists. They held that association is
the basic process in acquiring knowledge. In fact they fell that it is the sole mental phenomena except
sensation. The 3 primary laws of association given by Aristotle – similarity, contrast and contiguity –
persist to this day. However, these associationists were criticized for the tendency to reduce every
phenomenon to association. It was also felt that their use of a priori reasoning was not scientific enough
for Psychology. Gradually psychologists tried to analyze human knowledge and thought in terms of other
processes as well. Later associationists, Ebbinghaus, Thorndike, Pavlov and Guthrie used the
experimental method to study the association of stimuli and responses. They investigated learning
rather than memory and used the method of experimentation rather than a priori reasoning. Ebbinghaus
(1850-1909) was a German who made the first thoroughly experimental study of association. Deeply
impressed by Fechner’s careful experimental analysis of the sensory processes, he was convinced that
the same techniques could be adapted to the study of higher mental processes. Rather than assuming
that associations had already been formed and studying them through reflection (as had been the case
for many centuries), Ebbinghaus studied the associative process as it was taking place. Thus even
though, he insisted that he was studying memory, he was actually studying learning. Today Ebbinghaus
is famous for his material (NSS), method (experimental) and analysis of data (savings). His retention
curve is one of the major pioneer attempts in psychology to reduce experimental data to a mathematical
form. Though he was not a great theorist, Ebbinghaus was essentially an experimenter. His strength
was innovative experimental design and methodology. The person who actually started experimentation
as we understand the term today, was Thorndike. In almost all his animal experiments, the basic
methodology was to place the animal in a puzzle box so that the animal escaped when it made a certain
kind of response. He carefully observed the behaviour of the animal as it made various attempts to
escape from the box and noted how with increasing number of trials the time taken as well as the
irrelevant movements (errors) made by the animal decreased, to the extent that eventually the animal
escaped from the box as soon as he was placed in it. His experiments on chicks, cats, rats, dogs, fish,
monkeys, and finally human beings, convinced Thorndike that learning was a matter of trial and error, or
as he called it initially “selecting and connecting”. He held that the stimulus and response were held
together by a neural bond. Consequently his theory is called Connectionism, with the connection
referred to being the neural connection between the stimuli and the responses. Another very important
figure who contributed to an experimental analysis of associations was Pavlov, the Russian physiologist.
He designed carefully controlled experiments to study the anticipatory reflex in dogs. He repeatedly
paired food with a bell, always giving the food after ringing a bell, till the dog gave the salivary response
to the bell alone. Though Pavlov restricted his study to reflexes, conditioning also occurs with voluntary
responses. In fact so common is the phenomena in our daily lives that virtually all training is now called
conditioning and the term is used by laymen to refer to almost all acquired responses habits and skills.
Watson, the founder of behaviorism acknowledged Pavlov’s work as the basis of his ideas on
Behaviorism.
2. Structuralism: The school of structuralism started with Wilhelm Wundt trying to investigate the mind –
body question. Initially, the problems studied through experiments were philosophical in nature.
Essentially, the concern was with epistemological questions regarding the nature and source of human
knowledge. The structuralists tried to analyze mind into its basic units. According to structuralists
psychology was defined as the science of mind. Mind was reduced to 3 basic units – sensation, affection,
and images. The structuralists did not subscribe to the idea of interactionism and held that the
sensations, affection and images merely sum up together to form the human mind. They were also more
concerned with analysis and structure rather than with synthesis and functioning. They used a new
method for the study of mind, a method based on objectivity. Wilhelm Wundt christened this psychology
as Experimental Psychology. Nevertheless, it must be clarified that his conceptualization of the
experiment was totally different from our modern concept of the experiment. Structuralists actually used
the method of introspection to study the human mind. In their hands, introspection became a highly
specialized method to be used only by trained observers with a rigorous methodology and mathematical
procedures. Structuralists were criticized for this method as it become apparent that experimentation
was far superior to introspection as a scientific method. They were also criticized for not giving due
importance to the functioning of the body and emphasizing only the mind. They were charged with
narrowing down the scope of Psychology because they did not include animal behaviour in their study.
Children and abnormals also could not be studied because the method of introspection could not be used
on these groups.
3. Functionalism: The method of introspection adopted by structuralists and the type of problems they
selected for study were the focus of critical attack by the functionalists. Functionalism was founded in
America. An important antecedent influence on functionalism was the Harvard professor William James.
He defined psychology as the Science of Consciousness and sought to apply the empirical method in
psychology and started an informal laboratory in 1875, a year before Wundt started his laboratory in
Leipzig. With James, psychology ceased to be mental philosophy and became a laboratory science. He
was an empiricist, believing in nothing but the ever-changing empirical truth. Following James in his
rigorous empiricism, all functionalists are hard-core experimentalists, believing in nothing but the data
derived from experiments. The founders of the school of functionalism were Dewey and Angell. They
were also eclectic in their approach. Philosophically moderate, they did not take extreme positions,
except perhaps to emphasize the use of experiments as a method. Thus the greatest impetus for the use
of experimental method came from functionalists. Perception was a major area of interest for their chief
spokesman and developer of the school, Harvey Carr. However functionalists expanded the scope of
psychology much beyond the processes of sensation and perception. The subject matter of Psychology
was held to be any process that helped in the adaptation of the individual to his environment. All
functionalists focused on the processes of behaviour or functioning of individual rather than merely the
structure of the individual. Since they were all influenced greatly by Darwin’s theory, they conducted
animal experiments extensively. They felt that it would be easy to generalize from animals to human
beings because having descended from animals, in many ways man was similar to animals. Today most
psychologists follow the functionalist tradition without even knowing about it. Functionalism became
mainstream Psychology and lost its distinct identity as a school in the earlier part of the previous century.
4. Behaviorism: The school of behaviorism brought together the various strands that make up the fabric of
experimental psychology today. It arose as a revolt against the then current psychology i.e.
structuralism. Psychology as an empirical, positive science of behavior owes its beginning to Watson.
About a hundred years earlier than Watson, the Frenchman Auguste Comte’s (1797 – 1857) gave the
idea of positivism, a movement that demands positive (non-debatable) knowledge. Comte believed that
positive knowledge could come only from public, objective observation. Introspection, which gives
access only to private experience and consciousness, could not provide “valid knowledge”. He denied
the importance of individual mind and vigorously criticized mentalism and subjective methodology. He
advocated two types of study of affective and intellectual functions: (i) precise determination of organic
conditions on which these functions depend (ii) observation of behavioral sequences. Watson’s ideas
were a continuation of this thought, but in-between there was a gap of about a hundred years forced by
the ideas of structuralism. Watson exaggerated the emphasis on objectivism. As Boring (1950) writes
“The times were ripe for more objectivity in Psychology and Watson was the agent of the times”. The
formal beginning of behaviorism in America is with Watson’s paper “Psychology as the behaviorist views
it”, published in 1913 in the Psychological Review. An extract from this paper gives the essence of his
position – “Psychology as the behaviorist views it, is a purely objective experimental branch of natural
science. Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behaviour. Introspection forms no essential
part of its methods. The behaviorist recognizes no dividing line between man and brute…. The time
seems to have come when psychology must discard all reference to consciousness”. Watson stressed
upon the use of the experimental method to study psychological phenomena. He was primarily
interested in area of learning holding that all knowledge comes from the experience of the world. He felt
that there is nothing innate in the child and the child can be molded and fashioned by the environment or
the agents in the environment as they think fit. Not surprisingly, he saw the importance of Applied
Psychology and was among the first people to extensively use his knowledge in the applied area. He
was an advertising man and used his knowledge of behaviorism to design advertisements.
Following his lead, a generation of psychologists became behaviorists. Skinner, regarded as the greatest of them
all, was a strict experimentalist, atheoretical, and a creative designer of apparatuses. He has perpetuated the
vision of psychology initiated by Watson with a style, which is cleaner and purer than Watson’s. he insisted on
experimental analysis of behavior. Skinner studied operant conditioning and applied the phenomena to a variety
of areas ranging from training astronauts to training dolphins for circuses. A recent application of operant
conditioning is to train monkeys to help paraplegic patients. Skinner also applied operant-conditioning principles
to cure patients in clinics, in the education set-up, to rehabilitate criminals etc. Another important behaviorist
was Hull, “one of those rare people whose influence was so great, that they redirected a science” Marx and Hillix
(1987). Before him, psychologists were debating theoretical issues like philosophers; after him they were
researching postulates and theories like scientists. Hull’s book Principles of Behaviorism (1943) is to-date the
most cited publication in psychology. In this book he attempted to lay down a comprehensive theory of all
mammalian behaviour from which specific hypotheses could be derived for experimentation. His major
distinction is the objective precision he gave to psychological terms and ideas. Another important figure at this
time was Guthrie who is sometimes classified as a modern associationist because he believed that contiguity
between stimulus and response is sufficient to account for all learning. Nevertheless, he was deeply influenced
by Watson’s emphasis on experimentation, reductionism, and objectivity. He is the forerunner of an increasing
number of psychologists who use mathematics in psychology.
However, all psychologists did not accept the extreme insistence on objectivity and reductionism of the classical
behaviorists. The emphasis of the Gestaltists on the cognitive aspect of behaviour such as thinking, learning and
perception, along with the advent of computers, led to a cognitive revolution within psychology. The cognitive
factors in behaviour again became important, so much so that behviorism had to change its tough stance to
incorporate gestalt factors. Thus a new kind of behaviorism was born – Cognitive Behaviorism. It started with
Tolman’s insistence that behavior is purposive in nature. He held that all behaviour is purposively directed
towards particular goals. He also emphasized central cognitive factors in learning such as beliefs, expectancies,
mental sets etc. With the current emphasis on the study of cognitive processes, many psychologists owe a debt
of gratitude to Tolman, for clarifying issues and ideas with creative, ingenious experimentation and a bold
adherence to his own views in the face of almost universal opposition. He is the forerunner of all cognitive
behaviorists such as Miller and Dollard, Bandura, and Rotter. Little wonder that he is the most acceptable
behaviorist to non-behaviorists. The contemporary face of cognitive behaviorism is Bandura. He has been able to
change with the times. He is a cognitive behaviorist who combines a belief in cognitive aspects of man with
rigorous experimentation in the area of learning. Perhaps his most significant contribution has been the analysis
of observational learning, an area which had been neglected by other psychologists for years together, and
which has now been shown to be essential for human learning. It is the basic process in socialization – the
transformation of man from naïve child to a competent adult. Moving with the times, Bandura has come to
emphasize cognitive factors such as expectancies and beliefs regarding others and self, as important
determiners of behavior.
5. Gestalt: The Gestalt school of psychology also made its beginning about the same time as behaviorism.
In 1912 Wertheimer published a paper on Phi – phenomena in which he stressed that the objective
stimulus was different from its subjective experience. In the Phi – phenomena we can perceive
movement whereas actually the light is stationery. The perception of movement depends upon the
distance between the two lights, the time between the two lights, and intensity of lights. For optimum
movement a distance of 1cm and time of 60 milliseconds is required at normal intensity. Thus
Wertheimer demonstrated, how many factors together, determine perception. It is not only a collection
of factors that is required; in fact how these variables are related to each other is of prime importance.
Wertheimer's colleagues Kohler and Koffka also contributed to the study of perception. Later Gestalt
psychology contributed to the area of learning as well. The theme of Gestalt psychology was organization
– the fact that the experience of the individual is organized into a whole. Organisms do not separate their
reality into bits and pieces. In fact there is an innate tendency in all of us to organize our experience such
that it becomes meaningful to us. Learning was also held to be insightful rather than through trial and
error. Kohler did experiments on chimpanzees to show how higher order animals, including man, learn
through insight. They treat a problematic situation as a problem to be solved. When they solve it, it is
through the sudden grasp of a single general principle, which can also be transferred easily to other
situations. The Gestalt theory extended to the areas of personality and social psychology, and the initial
field experiments were done by Kurt Lewin and his associates, in diverse areas such as leadership, group
formation, competition, cooperation etc. The Gestalt psychologists were rigorous experimentalists. They
also emphasized physiological factors in behavior. Their theories and ideas were accepted in Psychology
largely without question, for all of them were based on experiments. It is the emphasis of the Gestaltists
on the cognitive aspect of behaviour such as thinking, learning and perception, which led to a cognitive
revolution within psychology in 1969. It precluded psychology from becoming a complete behaviorist
science, concerned only with stimuli and responses studying primarily animals.
6. Psychoanalysis: Another school of Psychology that has been influential not only within psychology but
also in other aspects of knowledge is Psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis existed around the same time as
Structuralism and Functionalism. However, it was considered essentially a branch of medicine started by
a German psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. Freud was concerned with the disintegration of personality that
happed in his abnormal neurotic patients. He started to study and analyze the human personality and
gave a unique theory of personality, which is influential even beyond psychology. Freud held that mind
had three layers – the unconscious, subconscious and conscious. He held that about 95% of the
individual’s behavior is determined by the unconscious. He divided personality into 3 aspects – id, ego,
and superego. Id is the irrational aspect of personality. It consists of all desires, instincts, impulses and
material repressed into the unconscious. Superego is also unconscious and irrational. It is acquired from
the society primarily through parents. It consists of the do’s and don’ts enforced by parents. The ego is
the reality oriented aspect of personality. It is the mediator between id, superego and reality. As Freud
says, ego has “three harsh masters” – reality, id and superego. The threat that the ego feels is called
anxiety. This anxiety, depending on the source, is of three kinds: reality anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and
moral anxiety. To counter anxiety, ego uses different mechanisms. However when there is an extreme
and exaggerated use of different mechanisms, the person is termed abnormal. When a person is born, he
is all id. He is just a collection of desires and psychic energy. According to Freud all behaviour is
motivated by psychic energy in the form of instincts, which are present in the id. The two instincts are –
eros (life instinct) and thanatos (death instinct). As the individual intreracts with the environment, he
gradually develops an ego. When the parents and other important figures tell him to do certain things
and not to do certain other things, he develops the superego. The superego is the moral force in the
person. It is a set of do’s and don’ts. Freud has also given five stages of psychosexual development.
Every individual passes through these stages to emerge as a well-adjusted adult. Abnormality may be
shown if the individual is fixated in any one stage. These stages are:
 Oral stage
 Anal stage
 Genital stage (Phalic stage)
 Latent stage
 Late genital stage
Adler and Jung further developed Freud’s ideas. They were also modified by neo-Freudians i.e. Horney, Sullivan,
Fromm, and Erikson. Psychoanalysts have been criticized for being unscientific. The theory is attractive but it is
not based on experiments. Thus it lacks empirical evidence. Psychoanalysts earlier claimed that the theory was
justified because it was based on clinical experience and it was successful in treating patients. Yet it is
questionable how far it is appropriate to base a theory for normal adult human beings on a few clinically ill
women patients. Secondly there is also a doubt about the efficiency of psychoanalysis as a treatment.
7. Humanistic – Existential: The bleak picture that Freud painted regarding human personality was
countered by the humanistic – existential school. The main thrust of this school is that man is free to fashion his
own destiny. He is inherently good and if left to his own devices, he creates all the wonders of the world. Every
person has the potential for self-actualization. Maslow, a pioneer in humanistic psychology holds that self
actualization is the highest need of the person. A person can be self-actualized only if all the other needs are
satisfied. These other needs are classified in a hierarchy. Rogers uses the term fully functioning personality to
describe people who are self actualized in Maslow’s view. Roger emphasized that fully functioning personality
has 3 essential qualities:
 Openness to new experiences
 Internal locus of evaluation
 Existential way of life
Existential philosophy is quite close to the humanistic view of man. Both believe that man is inherently good
and is born free. However existential philosophy emphasized that the society imposes restrictions on man such
that he cannot fulfill his potential. For existentialists the theme is always man vs society. In contrast humanistic
psychologists believe that society is the natural result of the growth of human beings to their fullest potential.
Maslow regards social interest as one of the key characteristics of self-actualization. Rogers also feels that
openness to experience and self-realization inevitably leads to doing good for others i.e. a socialized self evolves
out of self-realization. For humanistic psychologists society is but the result of self-actualization of human
beings. The humanistic – existential school has been criticized for evaluative constructs and for lack of hard
scientific evidence. Nevertheless they have helped to restore the view of man as a normal mature adult human.
We no longer think of human beings in psychoanalytical terms alone as constantly beset by difficulties.
All these schools of psychology reflect upon and focus on different aspects of Psychology. Without adhering to
any school, it is possible to be eclectic and pick out the best of all schools. In fact this is exactly what applied
psychologists do. Applied psychology was born towards the end of the nineteenth century when psychologists
scientifically investigated and tried to solve practical problems, when Galton, Cattell and Binet studied individual
differences, and pioneers such as Munsterberg and Scott applied psychology to advertising and other industrial
fields. Essentially, the study of and emphasis on individual differences was responsible for the genesis of applied
psychology. Psychology is perhaps unique among all sciences in its focus on human differences. Whereas other
sciences seek to understand uniformity and universal principles, psychology seeks to understand why people
differ from each other. Most psychologists obliterate the distinction between theory and practice. This removal
of distinction was reflected in 1948 when the American Association of Applied Psychology for Practitioners and
the American Psychological Association united to form the current American Psychological Association. It stated
objective was “to advance psychology as a science as a profession and as a means of promoting human
welfare”.
Today the schools belong to the past of psychology. Currently we just have miniature theories, which are
specific to given phenomena in a specific area. We do not have one grand theory, which explains all
phenomena. This is also the time where we accept nothing but experimental facts. Thus Psychology today has
become eclectic, specialized, and scientific. In its current role, it is not only studies phenomenon of human
concern, it also applies its knowledge to solve a variety of human problems.
PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA
In ancient times in India psychology was an offshoot of Indian philosophy. In ancient India there were no rigid
distinctions between religion, philosophy and psychology. The main consideration was to help the individuals in
their pursuit of self-realization and liberation from the miseries of life. Indian scriptures dating back thousand of
years deal extensively with the analysis of states and contents of mental activities. The essential feature of
Indian philosophy is its emphasis on the soul or atman with everything else secondary and subsidiary to it. Mind
too is an annexe of the soul, an instrument of action. Therefore the science of mind is but an outcome of the
science and philosophy of soul or the self (Safaya, 1976). In the Vedic period Kama or desire was the motivating
force. This energy was directed by the mind, which had the attributes of imagination, intelligence, feeling,
resolution, and consciousness of past, present, and future. The mind directs man to action. Mental peace and
pure thoughts are deemed to be essential for mental and physical well-being.
The Upanishads marks the transition from rituals to meditation, from external to internal evaluation, from faith
to reason. The human personality was said to consist of five layers or Koshas. Atman is the innermost
independent entity, enveloped by intellect, which directs all action. Mana governs five organs of perception and
five of action. Next is Prana, the vital life of all beings and the outermost is the material self – the body. The
concepts of sub conscious as a storehouse of past impressions, transmigration of soul, heredity, rebirth, etc. also
find mention in the Upanishads. Deep concentration and meditation are suggested to attain higher mental
powers as a step towards self-realization and liberation.
During the Sutra or epic period, the Upanishadic thoughts were synthesized in the Bhagvad Gita and the six
major philosophical systems – Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Vaisheshika, and Nyaya, were developed.
Buddhist and Jain thought also developed during this period.
The Samkhya Doctrine: A dualistic doctrine, it distinguishes between Purusha (pure spirit) and Prakriti (matter)
in all things at the cosmic as well as the individual level. It further proposes twenty-five elements or guna in
each individual.
The Nyaya Doctrine: It developed at the same time as Samkhya, but was more concerned with reasoning and
logical proof. It gives the foremost rank to perception as the only source of knowledge. Thought it is a realistic
school, it deals with illusions dreams, memory etc. It is essentially the science of perception. However, it
maintains that the external world exists independently of our thoughts since God has created it. In its later
period, the Nyaya philosophy clearly distinguished between the Supreme soul and the individual soul.
Vaisheshika Doctrine: This school is basically an extension of Nyaya school. It extends the field of perception to
intuition. In addition to perception, inference, and intutition, it considers memory as a source of valid knowledge.
Also according to this doctrine, the human personality comprises the soul, mind, and body.
Mimamsa Doctrine: This doctrine is basically concerned with Vedic rituals, dharma and religious rites. In
psychology, the school contributed to the field of cognition, specially verbal cognition holding the word to be
eternal. In doing so, it upholds the authority and eternity of the Vedas. On the whole, it upholds the common
sense views rather than the mystical ones.
Vedanta Doctrine: The Advaita Vedanta doctrine is the only school of Indian philosophy, which is monistic (belief
that everything is one) in its belief. It is an affirmation of the absolute entity as the sole existence. Human
personality, which is essentially Atma is identical with Brahma. Personality has five aspects. Moving from the
outer to the inner core, these are: the gross physical body, Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara (Self-realisation), and
Atma.
Yoga Doctrine: The philosophical schools mentioned so far dealt with psychology only incidentally. The Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali deal with psychology directly. The main thrust of the work is the superconscious state with its
divine powers, characteristics, and the means of securing this state. Yoga is a natural system of purification of
body, mind and soul to attain higher mental power and realize the divine potentialities inherent in man. It is
both a positive science describing the matter of fact, actual reality and a normative science guiding for the
future development of mental and spiritual potentialities.
These rich traditions, however, had little bearing on academic psychology implanted in India as a Western
science during British rule. Scientific psychology with laboratory work was a new approach and had no parallel in
traditional Indian Psychology. Psychology in India made a new beginning in the first decade of the last century.
Psychology was first introduced as a subject in the department of philosophy at Calcutta University. Sir
Brojendra Nath Seal who was the professor of mental and moral philosophy drafted the first syllabi of
Experimental Psychology and established a laboratory in 1905. Eleven years later, in 1916, this laboratory was
upgraded as the first psychology department and named the Department of Experimental Psychology offering
masters (M.A) and doctoral program (PhD). Narendra Nath Sengupta was the Chairman. He was educated at
Harvard University with Munsterberg, who in turn was a student of Wundt. Psychology was included as a
separate section in the Indian Science Congress in 1923. Thus, at an early stage, it acquired the status of a
science along with physical and biological sciences, something that western psychology could achieve only after
a long struggle. The Indian Psychological Association was founded in 1924 and the Indian Journal of Psychology,
the first psychology journal in India appeared in 1925.
Girindra Sekhar Bose succeeded Sengupta. Being a psychiatrist in close contact with Freud, Bose promoted
psychoanalysis. In 1922, he founded the Indian Psychoanalytic Society. He had obtained his doctoral degree on
the concept of repression. It was the first doctoral degree from an Indian university in psychology. He also
established Lumbini Park Mental Hospital in Calcutta in 1940 and in 1947 launched a journal Samiksha. In 1938,
the department started an Applied Psychology wing. Jung, Meyers and Spearman were invited to the Silver
Jubilee session of the Indian Science Congress.
Before India’s independence, psychology departments were also established at Mysore and Patna. M.V. Gopal
Swami, the Chairman at Mysore, was trained at London University with Spearman in mental testing. He adapted
western intelligence tests for the Indian population. He also set up the first animal laboratory in India and
applied psychological principles in the area of education. The department at Patna University began in 1946
along with the institute of Psychological Research and Services headed by H.P. Maiti. Since he had trained with
Girindra Sekhar Bose, his orientation was psychoanalytical and clinical. Patna emerged as a center for teaching,
research, and counseling. It provided vocational guidance and counseling not only to a large number of
students but also to the general public.
In most universities, psychology departments were established by splitting philosophy departments. Most
chairmen of psychology departments were trained in philosophy. One might expect that they would bring a
strong philosophical knowledge base to Psychology, making it richer in terms of Indian concepts and theories.
But this did not happen. In their enthusiasm to establish a new identity for themselves as scientists, they
completely disassociated themselves from their parent discipline. Their major aim was to acquire mastery over
statistics and experimental methodology. In this process, they became ardent advocates of western research
methods. Thus despite its roots in ancient Indian psychology/ philosophy, psychologists in India did not reap the
fruits of this unique advantage. Indian psychologists existed in two different worlds. As professionals, they were
engaged in scientific research based on western models. But to satisfy their creative urge they would engage in
other activities. E.g. Sir Brojendra Nath Seal was also a great historian of ancient Indian science. N.N. Sengupta,
trained as an experimental psychologist, contributed many papers to various journals covering areas such as the
psychology of Mysticism to the psychology of western dance. Girindra Sekhar Bose, the psychoanalyst, wrote a
commentary on Indian sacred texts and epics. Gopal Swami at Mysore had his own private radio station and was
equally involved in cultural activities. Thus, most Psychologists lived in two different worlds. Consequently the
research that they did in one world was not applied in the other world.
However, following India’s independence in 1947, there was some change in the content and concerns of
psychological research. Many psychological studies after the partition of India were concerned with the
rehabilitation of human society, the impact of variability in population, Hindu – Muslim tension and psychological
conditions of peace. An important area that emerged during this period was counseling and guidance. The U.P.
Psychological Bureau established in 1947 under the leadership of Sohan Lal and later C.M. Bhatia and S.N.
Mehrotra adapted many intelligence and aptitude tests in Hindi and provided counseling services to the public.
The Ahmedabad Textile Industries Research Association (ATIRA) was established in 1950 where Kamia
Choudhary conducted large-scale surveys to study motivational problems in textile Industry. In the clinical area,
advanced training programs were introduced at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
(NIMHANS), Bangalore in 1955 followed by the hospital for mental diseases in Ranchi in 1962. The Indian Army
also showed an interest in using psychological tests for selection. The Psychology Research Wing of the Defence
Science Organization was set up in 1947. Later it was elevated as the Defence Institute of Psychological
Research concerned with motivation, morale, leadership, mental health, stress, rehabilitation, and development
of psychological tests for the Army. These various efforts reveal the contribution that Psychology could have
made in different areas of national life. However, Psychology failed to make the best of these opportunities. On
the whole psychologists remained in the periphery of national development.
In 1950s and 1960s, the growth of psychology in Indian universities was rapid but unplanned. Nevertheless
many departments developed a distinct identity. Allahabad became known for research in the area of rural and
social psychology, Mysore for test construction, Patna for guidance and counseling, Pune for experimental work
in verbal learning. Another new development was the expansion of the teaching of Psychology in various
professional courses, i.e., in the area of engineering, agriculture, management and medical sciences. All IITs
have Psychology with doctoral programs. All IIMs have departments of organizational behaviour. In Home
Science and Education Colleges, psychology is taught at the undergraduate level. Many government and
autonomous bodies such as the NCERT, The Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, and Indian Statistical
Institute in Calcutta, have become centers of applied research in different fields of psychology. Many national
and international voluntary agencies seek the service of psychologists to carry out research and field projects.
At present there are 67 universities offering advanced degrees in various fields. India has the largest number of
psychologists outside the western block countries and is considered a publication grant among all developing
countries.
Indian Psychology Today
Today Indian psychology is at a crossroad. Experimental work in the area of perception, learning, and memory is
generally a replication of western work. In the area of psychological testing, abundant adaptations of western
tests exist, though they are suitable only for urban, educated samples, particularly school and college students.
In mental health, many surveys have been done to assess the general population. Generally, the western model
has been followed, though in the very recent times, traditional healing practices have also been investigated.
An applied area that drew attention of many scholars was industrial psychology. This was given an impetus by
McClelland’s work at Hyderabad. The findings of this innovative training were applied to many other areas as
well. In the area of Social Psychology there have been many studies of attitudes, prejudices, communal and
caste conflicts, socialization, and child rearing practices. Currently it is organizational behaviour that is the focus
of research for many psychologists. Nevertheless, by the mid - 70s it was clear that Indian psychology was not
contributing to national development as it should. The enthusiasm for the west was waning and the roots in our
own history were forgotten. Nandy (1974) lamented, “Indian psychology has become not only imitative and
subservient but also dull and replicative”. Agrawal (1973) renamed psychology in India as “adaptology”. A
strong need was felt to return to the Indian social reality and the treasure-trove of traditional psychological
knowledge accumulated over centuries.
In the response to this call, in the very recent times, there has been an increasing concern with Indian concepts
and ideas. Four clear-cut streams can be distinguished in Indian psychology at presents:
 Identification of unique feature of Indian culture to demonstrate empirically that western concepts and
theories are not applicable to the Indian cultural reality.
 Emphasis on problem oriented research, which is not merely an academic exercise but has practical
utility.
 Cross-cultural testing of psychological concepts and theories such that Indian ideas can also be tested
around the world.
 Psychology becoming more indigenous. At its core is the idea that all knowledge including psychology is
conditioned by historical and socio-cultural factors.
Currently, principal employment settings for psychologists include educational institutions, hospitals, prisons,
business and industry, military establishments, and private practice. Many psychologists pursue a combination
of private practice or consulting, research, and teaching. In the future, we require that psychology actually and
clearly provides a knowledge base to assist policy planners in the decision making process. It is the
responsibility of psychologists to shape public opinion by informing people about the challenges of
unprecedented technological advancement. They have a major role in the smooth transformation of our society.
They can act as catalysts in the process of change.

Introduction To Psychology 2010

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BA I, PAPER A, SECTION A, UNIT I 1

Psychology is the science of soul

Psychology is the science of mind

Psychology is the science of consciousness

Psychology is the science of behavior

Goals of science shared by Psychology

Assumptions of Science shared by Psychology:-

Scientific Method shared by Psychology

Place of Psychology in Science

Pure science branches of psychology

Applied Aspect of Psychology

Environmental Psychology: A relatively new area of psychology, it is specifically addressed to environmental

Psychometrics: It implies measurement of psychological phenomena or traits to assess the person as

Indian Psychology Today

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