An Introduction to

Psychology
 Life Before Psychology
Philosophy asks questions about the mind:
 Does perception accurately reflect reality?
 How is sensation turned into perception?

René Descartes Problem - No “scientific” way

(1596-1650) of studying problems

Physiology asks similar questions about the mind

Predict what will happen

SCIENTIFIC
Systematically observe events
METHOD
Do events support predictions
 Psychology Is Born
First Experimental Psych Lab (1879)
Focuses on the scientific study of the mind.
WW insists that Psych methods be as rigorous
as the methods of chemistry & physics.
Wundt’s students start labs
Wilhelm Wundt
(1832-1920) across USA (1880-1900)
University of Leipzig
Harvard University
Yale University
Columbia University
Catholic University
Univ of Pennsylvania
Cornell University
Stanford University
Psychology Define by Terminology
 The Term ‘Psychology’ Came from Greek

PSYCHE LOGOS
PSYCHOLOGY
SOUL or MIND TO KNOW ABOUT

Psychology as a Science of Soul or Mind

What is Psychology?
 Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes

 Includes the study of both humans and animals

Definition
 Psychology is an objective science of mental
experiences and behaviours in relation to overall
adjustment to environment.
Objectives of Psychology
 Describing the Behaviour
 Understanding the Behaviour
 Qualitative Classification
 Quantitative Classification
 Predicting the Behaviour
 Control
Subject Matter and Scope
 Physiological Aspect
 Mental Aspect
 Emotional Aspect
 Personality Aspect
 Application Aspect
Branches of Psychology
 Theoretical Branches
 General Psychology
 Abnormal Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Physiological Psychology
 Experimental Psychology
 Comparative Psychology
 Applied Branches
 Educational Psychology
 Clinical Psychology
 Industrial Psychology
 Medical Psychology
 Criminal Psychology
 Legal Psychology
 Engineering Psychology
 Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Data: APA 1997

Some Fallacies about Psychology or
Psychologist

 Psychologist are Mind Reader

 Psychologist are Fortune Tellers

 Psychology with Psychiatry

Thank you