Introduction to Psychology
Instructor: Hajra Tariq
Objectives
Definition of Psychology
Origin of Psychology
Perspectives of Psychology
Various fields of Psychology
Practical Application to Nursing
Definition of Psychology
The word “Psychology” is derived from two
Greek words “Psyche and Logos”
Psyche means “Soul/Spirit/Mind” and Logos
means “Knowledge”
Psychology stands for the knowledge of
mind/soul
Psychology is the science of mind and behavior
Cont.
Cont.
Subject Matter of psychology is A-B-C
A stands for Affect
B stands for- Behavior (Overt and Covert
Behavior)
C stands for- Cognition
Approaches/ Perspectives/ Models
The major approaches to study Psychology
are following:
i) The Biological Approach
ii) The Psychodynamic Approach
iii) The Cognitive Approach
iv) The Behavioral Approach
v) The Humanistic Approach
The Biological Approach
According to this approach, the behavior of
people and animals should be considered
from the view of their biological functioning.
The study of brain and nervous system helps
us interpret perception, memory emotions
and psychological disorders, etc.
The Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic theory emphasizes
unconscious motivation and the influence of
sexual and aggressive drives on behavior. It
has major impact in the fields of personality,
psychological disorders and therapy
The Cognitive Approach
This approach includes the study of mental
processes, such as thinking, perception,
memory and problem solving. Cognitive
psychologists seek to explain how we
process information and how our ways of
thinking about the world influence our
behavior.
The Behavioral Approach
The behavioral approach concentrates on
observable behavior. It suggests that an
understanding and control of a person’s
environment is sufficient to fully explain and
modify behavior.
The Humanistic Approach
The humanistic approach emphasizes that
people are unique and complex organism;
each person has a capacity to reach his or
her maximum potential. It is specially
important in the field of personality ,
motivation and psychotherapy.
Psychology Today
All these 5 approaches have come to dominate
psychology in the 21st century. These models
add to our understanding of why human beings
behave the way they do.
Psychologists with different view points have
different things to say; each tackles the issue
differently and contribute different insights.
Psychology Today
They are now more likely to have an eclectic
approach to study behavior and cognitive
processes.
Fields/ Branches of Psychology
Pure psychology Applied psychology
General Psychology Educational Psychology
Abnormal Psychology Clinical Psychology
Social Psychology Industrial Psychology
Physiological Psychology Legal Psychology
Para-Psychology Military Psychology
Geo-Psychology Political Psychology
Developmental Psychology School Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Comparative Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Pure Psychology
It provides the framework and theory.
It suggests various methods and techniques
for analysis, assessment, modification and
improvement of behavior. It is theoretical in
nature.
Cont.
General Psychology: it deals with
fundamental rules, principles and theories of
psychology in relation to study of behavior of
normal adult.
Abnormal Psychology: it deals with the
behavior of individuals who are unusual. It
studies mental disorders, their causes and
treatment.
Cont.
Social Psychology: it deals with the group
behavior and interrelationships of people with
other people. It studies various types of group
phenomenon such as public opinion, attitudes,
beliefs and crowd behavior.
Physiological Psychology: it describes and
explains the biological and physiological basis
of behavior. It concerns with the structure and
function of sense organs, nervous
system, muscles and glands associated with
the behavior.
Cont.
Para Psychology: it deals with extra-sensory
perceptions, causes of rebirth and telepathy.
Geo Psychology: it describes and explains
the relation of physical environment
particularly weather, climate and soil with
behavior.
Cont.
Developmental Psychology: it studies the
factors that influence the growth and
development of human behavior from birth to
old age. It also studies the influence of
hereditary and environment on behavior. It is
further subdivided in to branches like child
psychology, adolescent, adult and old age
psychology.
Cont.
Experimental Psychology: it studies about
ways and means of carrying out
psychological experiments by using scientific
methods. Here research method is applied to
discover and understand the fundamental
and general causes of behavior. It studies
basic processes such as learning and
memory, sensation, perception and
motivation.
Cont.
Comparative Psychology: it is concerned
with the study of animal behavior. The study
of animal behavior can lead to deeper and
broader understanding of human psychology.
Cognitive Psychology: is the study of
human thought processes and cognitions.
Cognitive psychologists study topics such
as attention, memory, perception, decision
making, and problem solving and language
acquisition.
Applied Psychology
Educational Psychology: it applies the
principles, theories and techniques to human
behavior in the educational situation. It is
concerned with the ways and means of
improving all aspects of the teaching/learning
process. Educational psychologist applies the
psychological knowledge about learning and
motivation to increase the efficiency of
learning in schools.
Cont.
Clinical psychology: it includes the study
and application of psychology for the purpose
of understanding, diagnosing, preventing, and
relieving psychologically-based distress
or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-
being and personal development.
Industrial Psychology: this applies
psychological principles to improve
productivity in business, industries and
government agencies.
Cont.
Legal Psychology: it is defined as the
interaction of psychology and the law.
Military Psychology: it is a broad field in
which psychological methods and
applications are used within the military in a
variety of ways. These include providing
mental health services to current and former
service members in addition to research,
operations, and teaching roles.
Cont.
Political Psychology: it is an
interdisciplinary academic field, dedicated to
understand politics, politicians and political
behaviour from a psychological perspective,
and psychological processes using socio-
political perspectives.
School Psychology: this field applies
psychological principles to improve the
academic performance and social behaviour f
students in elementary and high school.
Practical Application to Nursing
Cont.
Psychology helps a nurse to understand her
own self. With the knowledge she gets to
know about her weakness, has better
problem solving and coping skills.
Psychology helps a nurse to understand
others. She gets to interact with other
doctors, nurses, patients and with their
relatives.
Cont.
Individual differences exist; thus a nurse, with
the knowledge of psychology, easily
understands the unique human behaviour
and responds accordingly.
She can tackle the situation with ease and
help others in problem solving.
A nurse can provide social support to patients
and can easily develop a healthy professional
relationship with them
Cont.
She understand the relationship between body
and mind. Therefore she understands why
patients behave the way they do.
Patients get to interact the most with the nurse.
If a nurse is efficient enough to understand the
patient and their behaviours, she will be able to
make the patient comfortable.
