Psychology is one of the behavioral sciences—a broad field that spans the social and natural sciences. Psychology attempts to understand the role human behavior plays in social dynamics while incorporating physiological and neurological processes into its conceptions of mental functioning. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and application concerned with such areas as human development, sports, health, industry, law, and spirituality.
Experimental psychology, as well as psychophysics, began with the development of the experimental scientific method by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) in the 1010s. In his Book of Optics, he made use of the experimental method in his pioneering work on the psychology of visual perception.[1]
The first use of the term is attributed to the German scholastic philosopher Rudolf Goeckel (Latinized Rudolph Goclenius), published in 1590.[2] More than six decades earlier, the Croatian humanist Marko Marulić used the term in the title of a work which was subsequen
tly lost.[3]
The term did not fall into popular usage until the German idealist philosopher, Christian Wolff (1679-1754) used it in his Psychologia empirica and Psychologia rationalis (1732-1734). This distinction between empirical and rational psychology was picked up in Diderot's Encyclopedie and was popularized in France by Maine de Biran.
The root psyche is very roughly equivalent to "soul" in Greek, and ology equivalent to "study". Psychology came to be considered a study of the soul (in a religious sense of this term) much later, in Christian times. Psychology as a medical discipline can be seen in Thomas Willis' reference to psychology (the "Doctrine of the Soul") in terms of brain function, as part of his 1672 anatomical treatise "De Anima Brutorum" ("Two Discourses on the Souls of Brutes"). Until about the end of the 19th century, psychology was regarded as a branch of philosophy.
The first use of the term is attributed to the German scholastic philosopher Rudolf Goeckel (Latinized Rudolph Goclenius), published in 1590.[2] More than six decades earlier, the Croatian humanist Marko Marulić used the term in the title of a work which was subsequen
tly lost.[3]The term did not fall into popular usage until the German idealist philosopher, Christian Wolff (1679-1754) used it in his Psychologia empirica and Psychologia rationalis (1732-1734). This distinction between empirical and rational psychology was picked up in Diderot's Encyclopedie and was popularized in France by Maine de Biran.
The root psyche is very roughly equivalent to "soul" in Greek, and ology equivalent to "study". Psychology came to be considered a study of the soul (in a religious sense of this term) much later, in Christian times. Psychology as a medical discipline can be seen in Thomas Willis' reference to psychology (the "Doctrine of the Soul") in terms of brain function, as part of his 1672 anatomical treatise "De Anima Brutorum" ("Two Discourses on the Souls of Brutes"). Until about the end of the 19th century, psychology was regarded as a branch of philosophy.
In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt, known as "the father of psychology", founded a laboratory for the study of psychology at Leipzig University in Germany.[4] This is sometimes regarded as the "birthdate" of psychology. The American philosopher William James published his seminal book, Principles of Psychology[5], in 1890, laying the foundations for many of the questions that psychologists would focus on for years to come. Other important early contributors to the field include Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909), a pioneer in the experimental study of memory at the University of Berlin; and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who investigated the learning process now referred to as classical conditioning.
Meanwhile, during the 1890s, the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud, who was trained as a neurologist and had no formal training in experimental psychology, had developed a method of psychotherapy known as psychoanalysis. Freud's understanding of the mind was largely based on interpretive methods and introspection, and was focused in parti
cular on resolving mental distress and psychopathology. Freud's theories became very well-known, largely because they tackled subjects such as sexuality and repression as general aspects of psychological development. These were largely considered taboo subjects at the time, and Freud provided a catalyst for them to be openly discussed in polite society. Although Freud's theories are of limited (mostly historical) interest to modern academic psychology departments, his application of psychology to clinical work has been very influential. Followers of Freud who accept the basic ideas of psychoanalysis but alter it in some way are called neo-Freudians.
cular on resolving mental distress and psychopathology. Freud's theories became very well-known, largely because they tackled subjects such as sexuality and repression as general aspects of psychological development. These were largely considered taboo subjects at the time, and Freud provided a catalyst for them to be openly discussed in polite society. Although Freud's theories are of limited (mostly historical) interest to modern academic psychology departments, his application of psychology to clinical work has been very influential. Followers of Freud who accept the basic ideas of psychoanalysis but alter it in some way are called neo-Freudians.Rise and fall of behaviorism
Partly in reaction to the subjective and introspective nature of Freudian psychodynamics, and its focus on the recollection of childhood experiences, during the early decades of the 20th century, behaviorism gained popularity as a guiding psychological theory. Founded by John B. Watson and embraced and extended by Edward Thorndike, Clark L. Hull, Edward C. Tolman, and later B.F. Skinner), behaviorism was grounded in studies of animal behavior. Beh
aviorists shared the view that the subject matter of psychology should be operationalized with standardized procedures which led psychology to focus on behavior, not the mind or consciousness.[6] They doubted the validity of introspection for studying internal mental states such as feelings, sensations, beliefs, desires, and other unobservables.[6] In "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" (1913),[7] Watson argued that psychology "is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science," that "introspection forms no essential part of its methods", and that "the behaviorist recognizes no dividing line between man and brute." Skinner rejected hypothesis testing as a productive method of research, considering it to be too conducive to speculative theories that would promote useless research and stifle good research.[8]
Behaviorism reigned as the dominant model in psychology throughout the first half of the 20th century, largely due to the creation of conditioning theories as scientific models of human behavior, and their successful application in the workplace and in fields such as advertising and military science.
However, it became increasingly clear that, although it had made some important discoveries, behaviorism was deficient as a guiding theory of human behavior.[9] Noam Chomsky helped spark the cognitive revolution in psychology through his review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, in which Chomsky challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of behavior and language dominant in the 1950s.[9] In his theory of Generative Grammar Chomsky demonstrated that language could not be learned purely from conditioning, because people could produce sentences unique in structure and meaning that couldn't possibly be generated solely through experience of natural language — implying that there must be internal states of mind that behaviorism rejected as illusory.[10] Similarly, work by Albert Bandura showed that children could learn by social observation, without any change in overt behavior, and so must be accounted for by internal representations[11]
Existential-humanist movement
Humanistic psychology was developed in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, arising largely from existential philosophy and writers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard. By using phenomenology, intersubjectivity and first-person categories, the humanistic approach seeks to get a glimpse of the whole pe
rson and not just the fragmented parts of the personality or cognitive functioning.[12] Humanism focuses on uniquely human issues and fundamental issues of life, such as self-identity, death, aloneness, freedom, and meaning. Some of the founding theorists behind this school of thought were Abraham Maslow who formulated a hierarchy of human needs, Carl Rogers who created and developed Client-centered therapy, and Fritz Perls who helped create and develop Gestalt therapy. It has become so influential as to be called the "third force" within psychology (preceded by behaviorism and psychoanalysis).[13]
aviorists shared the view that the subject matter of psychology should be operationalized with standardized procedures which led psychology to focus on behavior, not the mind or consciousness.[6] They doubted the validity of introspection for studying internal mental states such as feelings, sensations, beliefs, desires, and other unobservables.[6] In "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" (1913),[7] Watson argued that psychology "is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science," that "introspection forms no essential part of its methods", and that "the behaviorist recognizes no dividing line between man and brute." Skinner rejected hypothesis testing as a productive method of research, considering it to be too conducive to speculative theories that would promote useless research and stifle good research.[8]Behaviorism reigned as the dominant model in psychology throughout the first half of the 20th century, largely due to the creation of conditioning theories as scientific models of human behavior, and their successful application in the workplace and in fields such as advertising and military science.
However, it became increasingly clear that, although it had made some important discoveries, behaviorism was deficient as a guiding theory of human behavior.[9] Noam Chomsky helped spark the cognitive revolution in psychology through his review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, in which Chomsky challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of behavior and language dominant in the 1950s.[9] In his theory of Generative Grammar Chomsky demonstrated that language could not be learned purely from conditioning, because people could produce sentences unique in structure and meaning that couldn't possibly be generated solely through experience of natural language — implying that there must be internal states of mind that behaviorism rejected as illusory.[10] Similarly, work by Albert Bandura showed that children could learn by social observation, without any change in overt behavior, and so must be accounted for by internal representations[11]
Existential-humanist movement
Humanistic psychology was developed in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, arising largely from existential philosophy and writers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard. By using phenomenology, intersubjectivity and first-person categories, the humanistic approach seeks to get a glimpse of the whole pe
rson and not just the fragmented parts of the personality or cognitive functioning.[12] Humanism focuses on uniquely human issues and fundamental issues of life, such as self-identity, death, aloneness, freedom, and meaning. Some of the founding theorists behind this school of thought were Abraham Maslow who formulated a hierarchy of human needs, Carl Rogers who created and developed Client-centered therapy, and Fritz Perls who helped create and develop Gestalt therapy. It has become so influential as to be called the "third force" within psychology (preceded by behaviorism and psychoanalysis).[13]Cognitivism takes the stage
The rise of computer technology also promoted the metaphor of mental function as information processing. This, combined with a scientific approach to studying the mind, as well as a belief in internal mental states, led to the rise of cognitivism as a popular model of the mind.
Links between brain and nervous system function were also becoming common, partly due to the experimental work of people such as Charles Sherrington and Donald Hebb, and partly due to studies of people with brain injury (see cognitive neuropsychology). With the development of technologies for accurately measuring brain function, neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience have become some of the most active areas in contemporary psychology[citation needed]. With the increasing involvement of other disciplines (such as philosophy, computer science and neuroscience) in the quest to understand the mind, the umbrella discipline of cognitive science has been created as a means of focusing such efforts in a constructive way[citation needed].
Principles
Mind and brain
Psychology describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior, and social interaction. Empirical psychology is primarily devoted to describing human experience and behavior as it actually occurs. Since the 1980s, psychology has begun to examine the relationship between consciousness and the brain or nervous system. It is still not clear how these interact: does consciousness determine brain states or do brain states determine consciousness - or are both going on in various ways? Or, is consciousness some sort of complicated 'illusion' that bears no direct relationship to neural processes? Perhaps to understand this, it is necessary to define "consciousness" and "brain state". An understanding of brain function is increasingly being included in psychological theory and practice, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience.
Schools of thought
Main article: List of psychological schools
Various schools of thought have argued for a particular model to be used as a guiding theory by which all, or the majority, of human behavior can be explained. The popularity of these has waxed and waned over time. Some psychologists may think of themselves as adherents to a particular school of thought and reject the others, although most consider each as an approach to understanding the mind, and not necessarily as mutually exclusive theories.
Ideas of uniting psychology
Journal of Clinical Psychology devoted two issues to discuss on unified theory of psychology [14][15]. Rand and Ilardi [16] notice that from its inception as a distinct discipline psychology has been characterized by conceptual disarray and integration across research enclaves and theoretical factions is limited. Rand and Ilardi differentiate some dimensions where different representatives of psychology might be.
dualism or materialism: mind and body can be seen different (dual) entities or with one intertwined (material) entity
science and practice: applied psychologists are still able to maintain relative independence from the science of psychology
science and humanism: there can be disagreement on such fundamental philosophical issues as determinism versus indeterminism, objectivism versus intuition, data versus theory, and nomothetic versus idiographic modes of investigation
behaviorism and mentalism: conflict between so-called mentalists and behaviorists is one of the deepest rifts in psychology
There have been several proposals for meta-theory such as Tree of Knowledge System. Rand and Ilardi notice that advancement of technology may drive towards unified theory in psychology, for example neuroimaging techniques have revealed previously unknown phenomenon.
Subfields
Psychology encompasses a vast domain, and includes many different approaches to the study of mental processes and behavior. Below are the major areas of inquiry that comprise psychology, divided into fields of research psychology and fields of applied psychology. A comprehensive list of the sub-fields and areas within psychology can be found at the list of psychological topics and list of psychology disciplines.
Fields of research
Main articles: Qualitative psychological research and Quantitative psychological research
Research psychology encompasses the study of behavior for use in academic settings, and contains numerous areas. It contains the areas of abnormal psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology and others. Research psychology is contrasted with applied psychology.
Abnormal psychology
Main article: Abnormal psychology
Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. Abnormal psychology studies the nature of psychopathology and its causes, and this knowledge is applied in clinical psychology to treat patients with psychological disorders.
In the study of abnormal behavior, it can be difficult to define the line between which behaviors are considered normal and which are not. In general, abnormal behaviors must be maladaptive and cause an individual subjective discomfort (signs of emotional distress). Generally, abnormal behaviors are classified as:
Abnormal as in "infrequent" in relation to the overall population.
Abnormal as in "maladaptive". The behavior fails to promote well being, growth, and fulfillment of a person.
Abnormal as in "deviant". The behavior is not socially acceptable.
Abnormal as in "unjustifiable". The behavior that cannot be rationalized.
The rise of computer technology also promoted the metaphor of mental function as information processing. This, combined with a scientific approach to studying the mind, as well as a belief in internal mental states, led to the rise of cognitivism as a popular model of the mind.
Links between brain and nervous system function were also becoming common, partly due to the experimental work of people such as Charles Sherrington and Donald Hebb, and partly due to studies of people with brain injury (see cognitive neuropsychology). With the development of technologies for accurately measuring brain function, neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience have become some of the most active areas in contemporary psychology[citation needed]. With the increasing involvement of other disciplines (such as philosophy, computer science and neuroscience) in the quest to understand the mind, the umbrella discipline of cognitive science has been created as a means of focusing such efforts in a constructive way[citation needed].
Principles
Mind and brain
Psychology describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior, and social interaction. Empirical psychology is primarily devoted to describing human experience and behavior as it actually occurs. Since the 1980s, psychology has begun to examine the relationship between consciousness and the brain or nervous system. It is still not clear how these interact: does consciousness determine brain states or do brain states determine consciousness - or are both going on in various ways? Or, is consciousness some sort of complicated 'illusion' that bears no direct relationship to neural processes? Perhaps to understand this, it is necessary to define "consciousness" and "brain state". An understanding of brain function is increasingly being included in psychological theory and practice, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, neuropsychology, and cognitive neuroscience.
Schools of thought
Main article: List of psychological schools
Various schools of thought have argued for a particular model to be used as a guiding theory by which all, or the majority, of human behavior can be explained. The popularity of these has waxed and waned over time. Some psychologists may think of themselves as adherents to a particular school of thought and reject the others, although most consider each as an approach to understanding the mind, and not necessarily as mutually exclusive theories.
Ideas of uniting psychology
Journal of Clinical Psychology devoted two issues to discuss on unified theory of psychology [14][15]. Rand and Ilardi [16] notice that from its inception as a distinct discipline psychology has been characterized by conceptual disarray and integration across research enclaves and theoretical factions is limited. Rand and Ilardi differentiate some dimensions where different representatives of psychology might be.
dualism or materialism: mind and body can be seen different (dual) entities or with one intertwined (material) entity
science and practice: applied psychologists are still able to maintain relative independence from the science of psychology
science and humanism: there can be disagreement on such fundamental philosophical issues as determinism versus indeterminism, objectivism versus intuition, data versus theory, and nomothetic versus idiographic modes of investigation
behaviorism and mentalism: conflict between so-called mentalists and behaviorists is one of the deepest rifts in psychology
There have been several proposals for meta-theory such as Tree of Knowledge System. Rand and Ilardi notice that advancement of technology may drive towards unified theory in psychology, for example neuroimaging techniques have revealed previously unknown phenomenon.
Subfields
Psychology encompasses a vast domain, and includes many different approaches to the study of mental processes and behavior. Below are the major areas of inquiry that comprise psychology, divided into fields of research psychology and fields of applied psychology. A comprehensive list of the sub-fields and areas within psychology can be found at the list of psychological topics and list of psychology disciplines.
Fields of research
Main articles: Qualitative psychological research and Quantitative psychological research
Research psychology encompasses the study of behavior for use in academic settings, and contains numerous areas. It contains the areas of abnormal psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology and others. Research psychology is contrasted with applied psychology.
Abnormal psychology
Main article: Abnormal psychology
Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. Abnormal psychology studies the nature of psychopathology and its causes, and this knowledge is applied in clinical psychology to treat patients with psychological disorders.
In the study of abnormal behavior, it can be difficult to define the line between which behaviors are considered normal and which are not. In general, abnormal behaviors must be maladaptive and cause an individual subjective discomfort (signs of emotional distress). Generally, abnormal behaviors are classified as:
Abnormal as in "infrequent" in relation to the overall population.
Abnormal as in "maladaptive". The behavior fails to promote well being, growth, and fulfillment of a person.
Abnormal as in "deviant". The behavior is not socially acceptable.
Abnormal as in "unjustifiable". The behavior that cannot be rationalized.
No comments:
Post a Comment