Foundations of Psychology

Assignment 1
Parmi Gala (Batch-I)

1. What is Psychology?
Ans: Psychology is a systematic and scientific study of mental processes, experiences and
behaviours - both overt and covert. The word ‘psychology’ has its origin in two Greek words
‘psyche’ and ‘logos’. The word ‘psyche’ in Greek language refers to ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ and the
word ‘logos’ refers to ‘discourse’ or ‘study’. During earlier times it was considered as a
discipline which deals with the study of soul.
In the modern era, Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour, according to
the American Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and
includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical,
social behaviour and cognitive processes.

2. What is the scope of Psychology?

Ans: Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour, according to the American
Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-
fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behaviour
and cognitive processes.
The field of psychology can be understood by various subfields of psychology making an
attempt in meeting the goals of psychology.
a) Physiological Psychology:
Physiological functions and the structure of our body work together to influence our
behavior. Biopsychology is the branch that specializes in the area. These bio-
psychologists examine the ways in which the brain is related to various disorders and
determine how our sensations are related to our behavior.
b) Clinical Psychology:
It is the study, assessment, prevention, coping and treatment of mental health issues
such as Depression, Schizophrenia, Anxiety, etc. Clinical Psychologists are employed
in hospitals, clinics and they may have their private practice. They work closely with
other specialists in the field of mental health.
c) Social Psychology:
Social Psychology is the study of how people interact in social contexts and what
variables affect social behavior, identity, and cognition. Social and environmental
factors affect the way we think, say and do. Social psychologists conduct experiments
to determine effects of various groups and their influence on behavior. These
psychologists conduct research on propaganda, persuasion, conformity, conflict, etc.
these researches help understand certain events of the world which otherwise would
be very difficult to understand.
d) Industrial and Organizational Psychology:
This is the study of how professional environments function with respect to
employment, assessment and recruiting, workplace well-being, etc. Organizations
apply psychology to improve communication within the organization and to improve
work life of the employees.
e) Educational Psychology:
Educational psychology is used in elementary and secondary schools, planning and
supervising special education, etc. It is also designed with a view to help make
learning more interesting and enjoyable.
3. What are the Goals of Psychology?
Ans: Following are the Goals of Psychology:
a) To Describe:
(“What are they doing?”)
The first goal of Psychology is to simply describe behavior. We need to find an
accurate description of human behavior. By describing the behavior of humans
and other animals, we are better able to understand it and gain a better perspective
on what is considered normal or abnormal. By describing what is happening,
psychologists and researchers can work more on data collection and they gain an
insight into what is really happening in a particular population.
b) To Explain:
(“Why are they doing that?”)
Psychologists are interested in explaining behavior- Why do people do the things
that they do? What factors contribute to development, personality, behavior and
mental health problems? To explain any such behavior, psychologists must
conduct experiments to ensure that behavior is not random.
c) To Predict:
(“What would happen if I act this way?”)
Psychologists aim to predict how the behavior might appear in the future. Once
there is more data about what happens and why it happens, researchers and
psychologists can use that information to make predictions about when, why and
how the said behavior might occur again the future. Prediction allows
psychologists to make guesses about human behavior without necessarily
understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenomena.
For Example, in Pavlov’s study of Classical Conditioning, once the dog was
conditioned, Pavlov was able to predict the dog’s behavior.
This is also used in the field of advertising, psychologists use the collected
information and predict what consumers may or may not purchase next and to
create products which will appeal to the consumers.
d) To Control:
(“How can this behavior be controlled?”)
By describing, explaining, and predicting the behavior, psychologists can easily
define, change or control behavior. Various psychological studies come up with a
number of theories that deal with changing or controlling people’s behavior. Some
of the well-known theories are social cognitive theory, the health belief model, the
theory of planned behavior, etc.

4. How did Psychology as a scientific field develop?

Ans: The earliest use of the word ‘psychology’ goes back to the 1500s by the Croatian
Humanist Marko Marulić in the title of a work which was eventually lost. More than
Six decades later, a German scholastic philosopher Rudolf Goeckel in 1950 used the
term ‘psychology’.
As a medical discipline, psychology is seen in the works of Thomas Willis. His book
called ‘The Doctrine of the Soul.
Until about the end of the 19th century, psychology was regarded as a branch of
philosophy. The beginnings of modern psychology are traced back to the year 1879
when Wilhelm Wundt established the first dedicated psychological laboratory at
Leipzig, Germany. Wundt was the first person who referred himself as a
‘psychologist’ and wrote the first textbook on psychology titled Principles of
Physiological Psychology. This book outlined many of the major connections
between the science of physiology and the study of human thought and behavior.
Psychology as a field has seen dramatic growth and change since its official
beginnings in Wundt’s lab. Psychology has continued to evolve since 1960 and new
ideas and perspectives have been come into play. Recent research in psychology looks
at many aspects of human experience, from the biological influences to the socio-
cultural factors and how they impact behavior.
Psychology is established as a science because it follows the systematic empiricism,
empirical questions, and public knowledge. Psychology is now considered a science
as it takes he scientific approach to understanding human behavior.