Psychology

1. UNIT : I INTRODUCTION Content:  History and origin of science of psychology  Definitions & Scope
of psychology  Relevance to nursing  Methods of psychology Aashish Parihar Nursing Tutor College of
Nursing AIIMS, Jodhpur

2. HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY Before 1870 psychology was not a separate discipline rather it was studied
under Philosophy. Some of the contributors of psychology were as follows:-  Wilhelm Wundt in 1879
opened first experimental laboratory in psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. He is
considered as the father of psychology.  American Psychological Association (APA) was established in
1892 and the founder was G. Stanley Hall.  In 1896 John Dewey and William James supported the
functionalism in Psychology.

3.  In 1896 Sigmund Freud developed the theory of psychoanalysis. On the basis of this therapy later on
he developed the therapy of free association and dream analysis.  In 1905 IQ test developed by Alfred
Binet and Thiodore Simon.  In 1913 John B. Watson supported the behavioral aspects of psychology. 
In 1921 Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devised a personality test based on patients'
interpretations of inkblots which is named as Rorschach ink blot test HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

4.  In 1921 First Nobel Prize for psychological research was given to Charles Frederick Menninger.  In
1921, Ivan Pavlov developed the theory of classical conditioning through the experimental approach  In
1935 Gestalt Psychology came into existence  B.F. skinner proposed the theory of Operant conditioning
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

5. HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY PERSONALITIES OF PSYCHOLOGY BF Skinner Sigmund Freud Ivan Pavlov

Wilhelm Wundt Father of Psychology

6. ORIGIN OF SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY “a science is the body of systematized knowledge that is

gathered carefully observing and measuring events.” Like any other science Psychology is also based on
the observations and experiments which others can repeat and verify. Psychology concerns with the
observation and explanations of human behavior in single individuals or in groups. “a science deals with
a group of related facts and principles of particular subject” Psychology as a science deals with the
motives, feelings, emotions, thoughts action of men and women

7. like a science, psychology discover and explain the underlying laws and principles of human behavior.
Psychology describes the laws of learning, feelings and thinking. Like any other science, psychology
collects the subject matter or facts of behavior. Psychology is a positive science not the normative as it
describes the facts of human behavior and its laws as they are not as they ought to be. Wundt was the
first psychologist to measure the human behavior accurately. Sigmund Freud, Maslow, Rogers, Watson,
Pavlov and Thichener were all important in the development of Psychology as science. ORIGIN OF
SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY

8. DEFINITIONOF PSYCHOLOGY The word "psychology" comes from the Greek word psyche meaning
"breath, spirit, soul", and the Greek word logia meaning the study of something. Thus we can conclude
that psychology is the study of soul. There are various definitions for psychology given by the variety of
authors which are- * “study of mind” “descriptions and explanations of state of consciousness” “William
James” * “study of consciousness” …. “Wilhelm Wundt ” * “positive science of the conduct of the living
creature” “William McDougall” * “ psychology is the science which aims to give us better understanding
and control of the behavior of the organism as a whole” “William McDougall”

9. Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. The discipline embraces all aspects of the human
experience — from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care
for the aged. In every conceivable setting from scientific research centers to mental healthcare services,
"the understanding of behavior" is the enterprise of psychologists. “American Psychological Association”
DEFINITIONOF PSYCHOLOGY

10. Psychology today covers enormous range of scope or fields. They can be broadly classified into two
groups-  Basic psychology  Applied psychology SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

11. Basic Psychology It is aimed at contributing to knowledge of behavior. College, universities,

laboratories and departments are the main employment settings of the basic Psychology. Basic
psychology has the following subfields:- 1. Developmental psychology 2. Social psychology 3.
Physiological psychology 4. Abnormal psychology SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

12. Basic Psychology 5. Experimental psychology 6. Psychometrics 7. Cognitive psychology 8. Personality

psychology SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

13. Basic Psychology 1. Developmental psychology –  It studies the human development, physical,
emotional, social, moral emotional and personality development across the life span  Developmental
psychology primarily focused on the child development.  But today devotes a great deal of research to
adolescence, adult and old age group. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

14. Basic Psychology 2. Social psychology-  It deals with interpersonal behavior and the role of social
forces in governing behavior.  It primarily focuses on attitude formation, attitude change, prejudice,
leadership, conformity, attraction, aggression, intimate relationships and behavior in groups. SCOPE OF
PSYCHOLOGY

15. Basic Psychology 3. Physiological Psychology-  It examines the influence of genetic factors on
behavior.  It also deals with the brain, nervous system, endocrine system and bodily chemicals like the
neurotransmitters in the regulation of behavior. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

16. Basic Psychology 4. Abnormal psychology  It is also known as psychopathology.  It studies the
models, causes, classification, diagnosis and the treatment of individuals with psychological disorders.
SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

17. Basic Psychology 5. Experimental psychology-  Experimental psychologists restricts themselves

chiefly to laboratory research on basic psychological processes, including perception, learning memory,
thinking, motivation and emotions. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

18. Basic Psychology 6. Psychometrics-  It is concerned with the measurements of behavior and
capacities usually through the development of psychological tests.  Psychometrics is involved with the
design of tests to assess personality, intelligence, and a wide range of abilities.  It is also involved with
the development of new techniques for statistical analysis. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY
19. Basic Psychology 7. Cognitive psychology-  Focuses on higher mental processes such as memory,
thinking, reasoning, information processing, language, problem solving, decision making, creativity and
artificial intelligence. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

20. Basic Psychology 8. Personality psychology-  It describes and explains the individual consistency in
behavior which represents their personality.  The area of interest is also concerned with the factors
that determine personality and personality assessment. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

21. Applied Psychology Applied psychology uses the various fields of basic psychology to improve the
quality of life of the human being in various fields like school, industry, hospital, consultancy and
community. Applied psychology has the following subfields- 1. Clinical psychology 2. Counseling
psychology 3. Organizational psychology 4. Educational psychology 5. Health psychology 6.
Environmental psychology 7. Forensic psychology 8. Sports and exercise psychology 9. Psychology of
woman SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

22. Applied Psychology 1. Clinical psychology-  It deals with the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of
individual psychological disorders.  Principal activities include interviewing the client, psychological
testing, and providing group or individual psychotherapy.  NIMHANS, Bangaluru, central institute of
Psychiatry, Ranchi provide the training in clinical psychology. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

23. Applied Psychology 2. Counseling Psychology-  it usually works with a somewhat different clients,
providing assistance to people struggling with everyday problem of moderate severity. Thus they often
engage in family, marital and career counseling. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

24. Applied Psychology 3. Organizational Psychology  It is an outgrowth of industrial psychology and

also known as organizational behavior .  It tries to study and solve the different organizational
problems exist in the school, hospitals, university, military, companies etc.  Here it tries to solve the
problems of leadership, group conflicts, conflicts, different levels of organization, organization culture,
organization development etc. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

25. Applied Psychology 4. Educational Psychology  Educational psychology is mainly devoted to an

understanding of the different aspects of the teaching-learning process.  It is concerned with the
application of the principles, techniques and methods of psychology to the teaching-learning process.
SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

26. Applied Psychology 5. Health Psychology  Health psychology is the field that studies the role of the
psychological factors in the promotion of health and the prevention of illness.  It has the interest in
relationship between stress and illness.  It describes the interaction of biological, psychological and
social factors.  This model is known as Biopsychosocial model. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

27. Applied Psychology 6. Environmental Psychology  Environmental psychologists work in school,

industrial and governmental settings.  They design work environment and study the effects of
crowding, noise and air pollution on behavior SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

28. Applied Psychology 7. Forensic Psychology  Forensic psychology applies psychology to the legal
system.  They include jury deliberation process and the best ways to select jurors.  Some forensic
psychologists train police to handle domestic disputes, negotiates, negotiate with hostage takers. SCOPE
OF PSYCHOLOGY
29. Applied Psychology 8. Sports and Exercise Psychology  This field applies psychology to athletic
activities and exercise  It considers the role of motivation, the social aspects of sports and physiological
impact of training on muscle development. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

30. Applied Psychology 9. Women Psychology  It discusses the psychological factors relating to
women’s behavior and development.  It tries to explain various issues like discrimination against
women, structural differences between men and women, the effect of hormones on behavior, causes of
violence against women and so on. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY

31. Methods a psychologist uses for gathering information or facts or data are-  Introspection 
Descriptive research  Experimental method  Developmental method METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

32.  Introspection  Introspection means looking into oneself or self observations or self analysis.  It
involves carefully examining and reporting one’s own behavior, thoughts, emotions, sensations and
mental notes.  In the method of introspection one relies on his memory, draws on his past experiences
of analysis his current behavior. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

33.  Introspection  It is very helpful in self observations without depending on time.  It does not
required any device  It is the only method by which of the experiences can be known. METHODS OF
PSYCHOLOGY

34.  Introspection  They can not be verified objectively  They cannot be confirmed by others 
Repeatability is not confirmed  Provide little or no informations about the experiences of infants,
mentally ill person or animals. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

35.  Descriptive research  Descriptive research includes the following methods-  Naturalistic
observation  Case study  survey METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

36.  Descriptive research  Naturalistic observation “making observations into natural world” o
Subjects individuals and animals are observed in their natural world. o The observer remain unobtrusive
o Naturalistic observation is also used in studying the animal behavior in natural environment and it is
called Ethology. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

37.  Descriptive research  Case study “studying individual in depth” o One individual is examined
intensively to find out as much as possible about a certain problem or a issue as it relates to that
person . o It is most often used to investigate the abnormal behavior. o Biographical data, scores on
psychological tests and informations obtained in extensive interview are the measures of the case study
or case history methods. o Overgeneralization and nonobjectivity are the limitations of the case study
methods. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

38.  Descriptive research  Survey “asking for responses to interview or questionnaire” o It collects
informations about behavior, opinion, attitudes, life experiences or personal characteristics. o Surveys
are commonly in the form of interview or questionnaire. o Question in survey should be clearly worded
free from bias o Due to financial constraint researcher administer survey on sample of people who
represent the target population. o Sample for the population should be representative of entire
population. o It is best achieved in terms of random sampling METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

39.  Experimental method “establishing cause and effect relationship”  Cause effect relationship can
be established by experimental method.  In laboratory researcher controls the condition and measures
the relations among variables.  A variable is something that can occur with different value. 
Independent variable  Dependent variable METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

40.  Developmental method “observing the period of growth”  Used in the field of developmental
psychology  Physical, social, moral, language and emotions are observed in the children 
Developmental method uses the following techniques- Normative investigations Longitudinal study
Cross sectional study METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

41.  Developmental method  Normative investigation o It describes something that is characteristic of

specific age o These observation provides norms. o Example of normative investigation is Bayley scale of
infant development. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

42.  Developmental method  Longitudinal study o In this study change in the same individual or group
are studied over a long period of time. o In it researcher observe for changes in specific characteristic
such as language, personality or intelligence. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY

43.  Physical and mental well being of a patient depends largely on the nurse  A nurse should know
the science of behavior for better result to deal with the patient.  Psychology explains the relationship
between the psychological stress and physical disorders.  After detail study of the psychology nurse can
apply the principles of psychology in the dealing with the patients.  Psychology helps the nurse to
accept the individual differences in terms of likings, disliking, emotions, response to stress etc.
RELEVANCE TO NURSING

44.  Psychology also contributes in many therapeutic measures like- behavior therapy, play therapy,
psychoanalysis etc.  Psychology helps to understand the concept of self awareness, self esteem.  It
describes the coping abilities, defense mechanism used by the patients and theis relevance to diseased
conditions. RELEVANCE TO NURSING

45.  Psychology helps to understand herself  Psychology helps to understand other people  It will
help her to improve situations by helping others  Make her to understand close relationship between
body mind and spirit. RELEVANCE TO NURSING