Psych11 General Psychology: handout#1

The Nature of Psychology

D E FI NI T I O N
A SC IENC E

AND

DEVELOP MENT

OF

PSYCHOLOGY

observation and measurement of predicted behavior. Behavior,

according to Morgan, means everything that a person does that
can be measured in some way, including feelings, attitudes, and
mental processes or internal events that cannot be observed
directly. These covert behaviors are measured through the
individuals reaction to carefully designed problems and
situations.
Many significant findings in human behavior have been
the result of studies conducted on animals. This happens when
some study is too unethical to be performed on humans. The
results on animal studies can then be applied as true to humans as
well, anchoring on the scientific proposition that humans and
animals are alike in more ways than one.

AS

Psychology is universally viewed today as the scientific study of

behavior and mental processes.
Its earliest definition dates back to the 16th century when the term
was coined from the Greek word psyche or soul and logos or
study. Psychology then was defined as the study of the soul.
This was due to the influence of religion at that time.
Philosophers, medical doctors, and physiologists were the ones
involved in the study of human behavior.

1979
Ernest R. Hilgard and his associates definition of
psychology dominated the field for almost thirty years from the
1930s through the 1960s. They define the field as the scientific
study of behavior and mental processes.
On the other hand, Robert E. Silverman defines
psychology as the study of human beings how they behave,
feel, think, get along with each other, and become the individuals
that they are. He posits that behavior occurs simultaneously with
other behaviors, cautioning psychologists about making
conclusions based only on a limited observation of a persons
behavior.

In the 19th century, a great shift in the focus of the study began to
redefine psychology. By 1890, psychology had emerged as a new
science because of the use of systematic and empirical procedures
and methods instead of applying philosophical thoughts and
physiological analysis on their studies.
An American professor named William James (1842-1910) was
the proponent of the scientific basis in the study of human
behavior. His book entitled Principles of Psychology, the first
publication on the new science, was considered a great landmark
in the history of psychology. He defined psychology as the science
of mental life, the science of feelings, desires, cognition,
reasoning, decision, and the like.

Areas and Fields of Study in Psychology

BIOPSYCHOLOGY
Physiological Psychology
Comparative Psychology
Genetic Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
DEVELOPMENTAL and PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental Psychology
Child Psychology
Adolescent Psychology
Geriatric Psychology
Personality Psychology
HEALTH, CLINICAL, and COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
Health Psychology
Abnormal Psychology (Psychopathology)
Clinical Psychology
Counseling Psychology
Educational Psychology
School Psychology
Psychometrics
SOCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, CROSSCULUTRAL, and LEGAL PSYCHOLOGY
Social Psychology
Community Psychology
Industrial Psychology
Organizational Psychology
Consumer Psychology
Engineering Psychology
Cross-cultural Psychology
Forensic Psychology

Chronological Development of Psychology

1974
Norman L. Munn and his associates define psychology
as a biosocial science or a combination of biological and social
science. Mans neural mechanisms, his senses, musculature, and
other aspects of his biological nature play a fundamental role in
human experiences. The social aspect of psychology refers to the
organisms behavior as he adjusts to the environment around him.
1976
Melvin H. Marx describes experience and behavior as
the major elements of psychological investigation. The first
element revolves around mans subjective experiences such as his
thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and similar mental activities. The
second element includes the behavior of the organisms, including
man and the lower forms of animals. However, the issue on
quantifying overt (observable) and covert (hidden) behaviors is
questioned by science itself, as covert behaviors cannot be
scientifically examined.
Kurt Schlesinger and his associates adopted the
American Psychological Associations (APA) definition of
psychology as a scholarly discipline, a science, and a
profession. As a scholarly discipline, psychology represents a
major field of study in the academic setting. As a science,
psychology is a focus of research through which investigators
collect, quantify, analyze, and interpret data that describe animal
and human behavior. As a profession, psychology involves the
practicable application of knowledge, skills, and techniques for the
solution or prevention of individual or social problems.
1977
Clifford T. Morgan defines psychology as the science of
human and animal behavior. Psychology is a science because it is
a body of systematized knowledge gathered through careful

THE HIS TORIC AL DEVEL OP MEN T

OF

PSYC HOL OGY

Psychoanalysis. This third school had its roots in medicine, and

was founded by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician and
physiologist. He introduced the term unconscious mind (the
mind that is not awake in all circumstances; a place where we store
our forgotten or repressed thoughts). He believes that conflicts in
the mind are somehow linked to an individuals need for sex and
aggression. He further assumed that all memories of early
childhood, whether conscious or unconscious, which are
stored in the unconscious level of the mind, motivate ones
behavior in later life. Unfortunately, this field received much
criticism for Freuds failure to test his claims in the laboratory
setting. But this field opened up a wide variety of important topics
such as the study of dreams, motivation, psychotherapy, and
creativity, thus it is still considered as a major school of
psychological thought.

Philosophy and Science as the Main Historical Roots of Psychology

Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle searched for
the origin of knowledge by taking a position called rationalism
which states that true knowledge comes only through correct
reasoning and not through the senses. Plato reasoned that man
can be fooled by his senses just as magicians fool us with the
illusions they create. Aristotle was another rationalist who
recognized the importance of knowledge. His passion was called
empiricism.
During the Christian and medieval eras, theologian
philosophers gave answers to most psychological questions.
Saint Augustines book entitled Confessions discussed the
theological basis of memory, emotion, and motivation.
During the Renaissance period, philosophy once again
became the basis of answers to psychological questions from the
14th to the 17th century. The great French philosophermathematician Rene Decartes and many others revived Platos
proposition. They rejected the authority of theologians to deal
with psychological issues. John Locke, an English philosopher
who favored empiricism (see Aristotle), put forth his famous
tabula rasa principle which states that a person is born like a
blank tablet on which life experiences conveyed through the
senses are written.
When philosophy seemed to have already reached its
limits, psychology turned to science in answering many
psychological questions, which became more believable and
convincing. Herman Von Helmholtz, a German physiologist,
demonstrated through experiments that rationalism had no
scientific basis to speak of. Another German mystic-philosopherphysicist named Gustav Fechner supported science, and so he
introduced psychophysics to study the relationship between physical
stimulation and mental experiences.
Herman Ebbinghaus said that psychology has a long
past but only a short history. Aristotle and Plato might have been
the earliest sources of psychological inquiry, but it was only a little
over a hundred years ago when psychology was accepted as a
separate science.

Behaviorism. This school rejected the study of the mind and

mental experiences to explain human behavior, as were the
contentions of the first three schools. Its founder, John B.
Watson, an American psychologist, explained that psychology
was a purely objective experimental branch of natural science,
which aims to predict and control behavior. This school focused
on observable behaviors, which could be recorded and
subjected to verification by other scientists. Watson denied that
mental processes could affect behavior. Thus, to Watson, a
person eats to satisfy the physiological deprivation of energy
(from sugar) rather than to satisfy the mental process of being
hungry. This field is more common in its contention of the
Stimulus-Response model, where an organism reacts either to be
satisfied or to avoid punishment.
Gestalt psychology. A German psychologist named Max
Wertheimer founded this last school of thought. He supported
functionalism but opposed structuralism. This school believes
that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. This
school introduced the notion that our mind processes information
as a whole, not as separate segments.
Different Approaches in the study of Psychology
The study of psychology can be approached from
several viewpoints. The neurobiological approach attempts to
relate our actions to events taking place inside the body,
particularly in the brain and nervous system. The behavioral
approach focuses on those external activities of the organism that
can be observed and measured. Cognitive psychology is
concerned with the way the brain actively processes incoming
information by transforming it internally in various ways. The
psychoanalytic approach emphasizes unconscious motives
stemming from sexual and aggressive impulses repressed in
childhood. Phenomenological and humanistic approaches
focus on the persons subjective experiences, freedom of choice,
and motivation toward self-actualization.

The Dominant Schools of Psychology in the Late Nineteenth and Early

Twentieth Centuries
Structuralism. Advocates of this school of thought sought to
analyze the mind and its parts by studying conscious mental
experiences. Wilhelm Wundt was considered to be the first
modern psychologist because of his scientific study on the
relationship between physical energy and psychological
experience. Psychologists in this school of thought analyzed what
they considered to be the first three complex mental experiences
images, feelings, and sensations. The process of introspection
was the dominant theme, where an individual verbalizes what
information he can receive from his five senses.
Functionalism. This was rooted in Charles Darwins Theory of
Evolution, wherein he believed that inherited characteristics
helped a person adapt to the environment. The strong
characteristics used by our ancestors in the past have been passed
on to the present generation, enabling survival and elimination of
the weak traits.

*end of chapter one*