Notes

Psychology notes – 1
What is psychology?
Psyche – soul
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Logos – science or the study of a subject

• Psychology is formally defined as a science that studies mental processes,

experiences, and behavior in different contexts. It is the study of our mind and soul.
• Scientific discipline that deals with processes underlying human experiences and
behavior.
Levels of psychology
1. Individual
2. Dyadic (2-person group)
3. Organisational
These levels have biological as well as social bases.
➢ A discipline is defined both in terms of what it studies and how it studies. More in terms of
how or method/s it uses.
➢ Psychology uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain data systematically. It
makes sense on these data so that they can be organized as knowledge.

The three aspects we use while defining psychology

1. Mental processes – encompass all the things that the human mind can naturally do.
Since the human mind is constantly active, the mental processes are continuously
relevant and affect or intake events from our daily life.
MIND BRAIN
Cannot be observed Can be observed by brain imaging
Doesn’t have a structure or location Has a structure and a location
Mind is more conscious The brain is less conscious
Evolves due to experiences and It provides clues about the mental
interactions functioning

➢ The consciousness of our own experiences and mental processes are much more than the
neural or brain activities, even when we’re asleep, some mental activities going on.
➢ Some psychologists have also shown that we learn and remember in our sleep
➢ Mental processes, such as remembering, learning, knowing, perceiving, and feel are of
interest to psychologists.

2. Experiences are subjective and can’t be observed or known directly as we cannot feel
someone’s experience. Only the experiencing person can be aware or conscious of their
experiences. Thus, experiences are embedded in our awareness or consciousness.
Experiences are influenced by the internal and external conditions of the experiencer. The
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nature of experience can be understood by analyzing a complete set of internal and external
conditions.
3. Behaviors – they are responses or reactions we make or activities that we engage in.
Behaviors may be simple or complex, short or enduring. Some behaviors are overt. They can
be outwardly seen or sensed by an observer. Some are internal or covert. All behaviors,
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changes that happen internally.

➢ Some psychologists study behavior as an association between stimulus (s)

and response (R). both stimulus and response can be internal or external.

Psychology as a Discipline
▪ While observing common people, our own opinion or ways of
understanding the world influence our interpretations of their
experiences and behaviors.
▪ Psychologists try to minimize such biases in their explanation of
behavior and experiences in different ways.
▪ Some do so by seeking to make their analysis scientific and objective.
Others seek to explain behavior from the point of view of the
experiencing persons because they think that subjectivity is a
necessary aspect of human experience.
▪ In the Indian tradition, self-reflection, and analysis of our conscious
experiences are held to be a major source of psychological
understanding.
▪ Many western psychologists have also begun to emphasize the role of
self-reflection and self-knowledge in understanding human behavior
and experience.
▪ Regardless of the differences in the way psychologists go about the
study of behavior, mental processes, and experiences, they seek to
understand and explain them in a systematic and verifiable manner .
▪ Psychology, though it is a very old knowledge discipline, is a young
science.
▪ the founding of the first laboratory of psychology in 1879 in Leipzig.
▪ What kind of science is psychology, remains a matter of debate,
particularly because of the new interfaces of it that have emerged in
recent times.
▪ Psychology is generally categorized as a social science.
▪ not only in other countries but in India also, it is a subject of study
offered in the faculty of science, both at the undergraduate and post-
graduate levels.
▪ Many students go on to earn a B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree in universities.
▪ Two of the most sought-after emerging disciplines that continuously
borrow from psychology are Neuroscience and Computer Science.
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▪ Techniques such as MRI and EEG make it possible to study brain

processes in real-time, i.e. when they are taking place.
▪ IT areas involve both, human and computer interactions and AI
cannot possibly grow without psychological knowledge in cognitive
processes. Thus, psychology as a discipline today has two separate
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▪ One makes us use the method of physical and biological sciences
whereas the other makes us use the method of social and cultural
sciences in studying various psychological and social phenomena.
▪ These streams converge only to drift apart and go their separate
ways.
▪ In the first case, psychology considers itself a discipline, which focuses
largely on biological principles to explain human behavior. It assumes
that all human behavioral phenomena have causes that can be
discovered if we collect data systematically under controlled
conditions. Here, the researcher is to know the cause-and-effect
relationship so that a prediction of the behavioral phenomenon can
be made and behavior can be controlled if necessary.
▪ Psychology as a social science focuses on how behavioral phenomena
can be explained in terms of interaction that takes place between the
person and the socio-cultural context, they are a part of. Each
behavioral phenomenon is assumed to have multiple causes.

Psychology as a natural science

• Discrete influence on psychology
• Psychologists use a hypothetical deductive model to prove any
hypothesis
• By using this model, many psychologists give theories on topics
like motivation, perception, memory, etc.

Psychology as a social science

• Studies human behavior in social content.
• Human behavior is shaped by their socio-cultural environment
• Focuses on humans and communities as social beings about their
social culture and physical environment.

Understanding mind and behavior

• It is believed that the mind cannot exist without the brain but the
mind is a separate entity.
• Earlier, it was believed that there is no relation between the mind
and the body but now neurosciences have cleared that there is a
relationship between mind and behavior.
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• Use of mental imagery, with the help of visualization, phobias

were cured.
• A new discipline called psychoneuroimmunology has emerged
which emphasizes the role played by the mind in strengthening
the immune system.
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Popular notions about the discipline of psychology
• Common sense is not equal to psychological studies
• Common sense is based on hindsight whether psychology as
science looks for patterns of behavior that can be predicted and
not explained after the behavior occurs.
• Common sense tells us that an individual isn’t able to perform
their best in front of the audience but psychological studies have
shown that if practiced well, an individual may perform better as
the presence of others helps with the performance.

Evolution of psychology
• Wilhelm Wundt gave the school of structuralism. He used the
method of introspection to analyze the structure of the mind. As
this method didn’t satisfy other psychologists, new schools were
introduced.
• Functionalism was given by William James to study the human
mind. He argued that psychologists should study what the mind
does and how behavior functions in making people deal with their
environment. He said that consciousness is an ongoing stream of
mental processes interacting with the environment that formed
the core of psychology.
• Gestalt psychology emerged as a new school in Germany. In this, it
is shown that what we experience is more than the inputs received
from our environment. Experience is holistic; it is a gestalt.
• Jon Watson established behaviorism in which he denied the idea
of introspection and consciousness. As per him, scientific
psychology must focus on what is observable and verifiable.
• Now, Sigmund Freud gave psychoanalysis. He viewed human
behavior as a dynamic manifestation of unconscious desires and
conflicts. He viewed human beings as motivated by an
unconscious desire for gratification or pleasure-seeking.
• Humanistic perspective given by Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow, emphasized the free will of human beings and their
natural striving to grow and unfold their inner potential.
• Aspects of Gestalt and structuralism were combined and led to the
development of the cognitive perspective which focuses on how
we know about the world. Cognition is the process of knowing
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• Modern cognitive psychology views human beings as actively

constructing their minds through their exploration of the physical
and social world. This view is sometimes called constructivism.

Developments in psychology
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Various specializations emerged over the years-
1. Cognitive psychology – mental processes
2. Biological psychology – behavior and physical body
3. Developmental psychology – development throughout the
lifespan
4. Social psychology – relation with the society
5. Cross-cultural and cultural psychology – relation with
culture
6. Environmental psychology – relation with nature
7. Health psychology – the role of psychological factors
8. Clinical and counseling psychology – deals with disorders
9. Industrial/organizational psychology – workplace behavior
10. Sports psychology – deals with the behavior of sportsmen
11. Educational psychology – deals with school students
12. Other emerging branches of psychology

Themes of research and applications

Theme 1 – psychology like other sciences attempts to
develop principles of behavior or mental processes
1. Understand and explain behavior and mental events
2. Draw conclusions supported by data
3. Design and conduct experiments under controlled conditions
4. Develop principles about behavior and mental processes
5. Conclusion applies to everybody and is universal

Theme 2 – human behavior is a function of the attributes of people and the

environment
1. Kurt Lewin – B = F(P.E)
2. Behavior is the product of a person and their environment
3. Every human varies in terms of intelligence, interests, and many more
4. Differential psychology focuses on individual differences
5. Heredity and VS environment

Theme 3 – human behavior is caused

1. Causes can be either internal (personal) or external (environmental)
2. Not only one cause

Theme 4 – understanding that human behavior is culturally constructed

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1. Most theories and models are Euro-American, thus don’t help in

understanding other cultures
2. Feminists claim that psychology ignores the female perspective

Theme 5 – human behavior can be controlled and modified through the

Page | 6 application of psychological principles
1. To improve quality of life
2. Interventions in the life of needy people, brought this subject closer
to life and made it more popular
3. Various independent branches have emerged to deal with different
sectors such as education, industry, and psychology.

Basic v/s applied psychology

1. There isn’t a clear difference between the two
2. Theories that we study in basic psychology can be applied in real life
3. Research is an integral part of those fields of psychology that are mainly
characterized by or subsumed under the category of application
4. There is seemingly no fundamental difference between research and psychology
5. These activities are highly interrelated and mutually reinforcing

Psychology and other disciplines

• Researchers and scholars in science, social science, and humanities have felt
the significance of psychology as a discipline.
• We’ll see the relationship of psychology with other disciplines.

political science

education

economics

music and fine arts

law/criminology

mass communication

sociology

architecture and engineering

medicine/psychiatry

computer science

philosophy

Psychologists at work
Psychologists work in various ‘human service areas’
• Clinical psychologists
• Counselling psychologists
• Community psychologists
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• School psychologists
• Organizational psychologists

Psychology in everyday life

• After studying psychology, we’ll be able to solve our day-to-day problems
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more effectively
• The principles and methods of psychology will help us analyze and understand
our relationship with people
• Psychology helps us understand ourselves in a better way
• By using various psychological principles, we can enhance our abilities such as
learning and memory.
• Thus, the knowledge of psychology is quite useful in our everyday life and is
rewarding from personal as well as social points of view.