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PsychologyFrom Wikipedia search: Ψυχολογία, lit. "study of the mind", from ψυχή psykhē "breath, spirit, soul"; and-λογία,-logia"study of"[1]) is anacademicand applieddiscipline involving the scientificstudy of humanmental functionsand behavior .Occasionally, in addition or oppositionto employing thescientific method, it also relies onsymbolic interpretation and critical analysis,although these traditions have tended to be less pronounced than in other social sciencessuch associology. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception,cognition,emotion, personality, behavior andinterpersonal relationships. Some, especiallydepth psychologists,also study theunconscious mind. Psychologicalknowledge is applied to various spheres of human activity, including issues related to everyday life—such as family,education and employment—and to thetreatment of mental health problems. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring theunderlying physiologicalandneurologicalprocesses. Psychology includes many subfields of study and applications concerned with such areas as human development, sports, health,industry,media andlaw. Psychology incorporates research from the natural sciences,social sciences andhumanities.A person who studies or practices psychology is called a psychologist. Contents]hide[1History1.1Philosophical and scientific roots1.2Psychoanalysis1.3Behaviorism1.4Humanism and existentialism1.5Cognitivism2Schools of thought3Subfields3.1Abnormal psychology3.2Biological psychology3.3Cognitive psychology3.4Comparative psychology3.5Counseling psychology3.6Clinical psychology3.7Critical psychology3.8Developmental psychology3.9Educational psychology3.10Evolutionary psychology3.11Forensic psychology3.12Global psychology3.13Health psychology3.14Industrial/organizational psychology3.15Legal psychology3.16Personality psychology3.17Quantitative psychology3.18Social psychology

3.19School psychology4Research methods4.1Controlled experiments4.2Survey questionnaires4.3Longitudinal studies4.4Observation in natural settings4.5Qualitative and descriptive research4.6 Neuropsychological methods4.7Computational modeling4.8Animal studies5Criticism5.1Status as a science5.2Fringe clinical practices6See also7References8External links]edit] HistoryMain article:History of psychologyAuguste Rodin's The Thinker . ]edit] Philosophical and scientific rootsThe study of psychology in philosophicalcontext dates back to the ancientcivilizations of Egypt,Greece, China andIndia. Psychology began adopting a more clinical[2]andexperimental[3]approach under medievalMuslim psychologistsand physicians, who built psychiatric hospitalsfor such purposes.[4[ In 1802, French physiologistPierre Cabanishelped to pioneer biological psychology with his essay Rapports du physique et du moral de l'homme (On the relations between the physical and moral aspects of man). Cabanis interpreted the mind in lightof his previous studies of biology,arguing thatsensibility and soulare properties of thenervous system. Though the use of psychologicalexperimentationdates back toAlhazen's Book of Optics in 1021,[3][5] psychology as an independent experimental field of study began in 1879, whenWilhelm Wundtfounded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological research atLeipzig Universityin Germany, for which Wundt is knownas the "father of psychology".[6] The year 1879 is thus sometimes regarded as the "birthdate" of psychology. The American philosopher William Jamespublished hisseminal book,Principles of Psychology[7]in 1890, laying the foundations for many

of the questions that psychologistswould focus on for years to come. Other importantearly contributors to the field includeHermann Ebbinghaus(1850–1909), a pioneer inthe experimental study of memoryat theUniversity of Berlin; and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov(1849-1936) who investigated thelearningprocess now referred to asclassical conditioning.]edit] PsychoanalysisMain article:PsychoanalysisFrom the 1890s until his death in 1939, the Austrian physicianSigmund Freuddeveloped a method of psychotherapyknown as psychoanalysis.Freud's understanding of the mind was largely based on interpretive methods, introspectionand clinical observations, and was focused in particular on resolving unconsciousconflict, mental distress and psychopathology. Freud's theories became very well-known, largely because they tackled subjects such assexuality,repression,and the unconscious mindas general aspects of psychological development. These werelargely consideredtaboosubjects at the time, and Freud provided a catalyst for themto be openly discussed in polite society. While Freud is perhaps best known for histripartite model of the mind, consisting of the id,ego,andsuperego, and his theories about theOedipus complex,his most lasting legacy may be not the content of his theories but his clinical innovations, such as the method of free associationand aclinical interest in dreams. Freud had a significant influence on Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, whose analytical psychologybecame an alternative form of depth psychology. Other well-known psychoanalytic thinkers of the mid-twentieth century included Sigmund Freud'sdaughter, psychoanalystAnna Freud; German-American psychologistErik Erickson, Austrian-British psychoanalystMelanie Klein,English psychoanalyst and physician D. W. Winnicott, German psychologistKaren Horney, German-born psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm, and English psychiatristJohn Bowlby. Contemporary psychoanalysis comprises diverse schools of thought, including ego psychology, object relations,interpersonal, Lacanian,andrelational psychoanalysis. Modification of Jung's theories has led to thearchetypaland process-oriented schools of psychological thought.Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper argued that Freud's psychoanalytic theorieswere presented in untestable form.[8]Psychology departments in American universities today arescientifically oriented, and Freudian theory has beenmarginalized, being regarded instead as a "desiccated and dead" historical artifact,according to a recentAPAstudy.[9]Recently, however, South African neuroscientist Mark Solmsand other researchers in the emerging field of neuro-psychoanalysishave argued for Freud's theories, pointing out brain structures relating to Freudian conceptssuch aslibido, drives, theunconscious, andrepression.[10[ ]edit] BehaviorismMain article:BehaviorismBehaviorism arose partly due to the popularity of laboratory-based animalexperimentation and partly in reaction to Freudian psychodynamics,which was difficult to testempiricallybecause, among other reasons, it tended to rely on casestudies and clinical experience, and dealt largely with intra-psychic phenomena thatwere difficult to quantify or to define operationally. Moreover, in contrast with early psychologists Wilhelm Wundt and William James, who studied the mind viaintrospection, the behaviorists argued that the contents of the mind were not open toscientific scrutiny and that scientific psychology should only be concerned with thestudy of observable behavior. There was no consideration of internal representation or

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