Introduction of philosophy

Psychology Philosophy

Meaning of psychology

The word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning 'soul' or 'mind.' And logos meaning word.

Psychology studies human mind and behavior.

The mental or behavioral characteristics individual or groups or a particular form .

The study of Psychology is conducted in a scientific as well as non-scientific manner.

History of PsychologyEarly history (Before 19th Century)387 BC Plato suggested that the brain is the mechanism of mental processes.335 BC Aristotle suggested that the heart is the mechanism of mental processes.100 BC Dead Sea Scrolls noted the division of human nature into two temperaments.900 AD The concepts of mental health or "mental hygiene" were introduced by Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi

. He also recognized that illnesses can have both psychological and/or physiological causes. [3]

1774 AD Franz Mesmer detailed his cure for some mental illness, originally called mesmerism and now known as hypnosis.

19th century1879 First psychology laboratory: Wilhelm Wundt opens first experimental laboratory in psychology at the

University of Leipzig, Germany1883 The first laboratory of psychology in America is established at Johns Hopkins University.

1886 Sigmund Freud began performing therapy in Vienna, marking the beginning of personality theory.

1890 William James published 'Principles of Psychology,' that later became the foundation for functionalism.

1896 Writings by John Dewey began the school of thought known as functionalism.20th century1990 Sigmund Freud published 'Interpretation of Dreams' marking the beginning of Psychoanalytic

 Thought.1912 William Stern developed the original formula for the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) after studying the

scores on Binet's intelligence test. 1913 John E. Watson published 'Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It' marking the beginnings of 

Behavioral Psychology.1925 Wolfgang Kohler published 'The Mentality of Apes' which became a major component of Gestalt

Psychology1954 Abraham Maslow helped to found Humanistic Psychology and later developed his famous 

Hierarchy of Needs.

Major schools of thoughts in Psychology

StructuralismFunctionalismBehaviorismPsychoanalysisHumanistismGestaltCognitive

Structuralism When psychology was first established as a science separate from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began Structuralism was the first school of psychology, and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Structuralisms used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind. Structuralism explores many aspects of the mind, though research is mainly concerned with sensation and perception in vision, hearing and touch. 

Major structuralism thinkers include Wilhelm Wundt, he introduced laboratory setting for psychology. Wundt believed that psychology should focus on breaking down consciousness into its basic elements, in much the same way a child would pull apart a toy to reveal its component parts. For example, if you were presented with a slice of cake, it would not be enough to simply identify the type of food before you. You would also need to explain the basic elements of the cake that you able to sense. For example, you might describe the taste, smell, texture, color, and shape of the cake in as much detail as possible.

Strengths of Structuralism: Structuralism is important because it is the first major school of thought in psychology. Structuralism also influenced experimental psychology. Criticisms of Structuralism: By today’s scientific standards, the experimental methods used to study the structures of the mind were too subjective—the use of introspection led to a lack of reliability in results. Other critics argue that structuralism was too concerned with internal behavior, which is not directly observable and cannot be accurately measured.

FunctionalismFunctionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralism

school of thought, instead of focusing on the mental process, functionalist thinkers were interested in the role that these processes play. Structuralism was the study of the contents of consciousness.  Functionalism was utilitarian and concerned with commonsense issues.  

Functionalism contributed greatly to the development of psychology. Functionalists are also credited with bringing the study of animals, children and abnormal behavior into psychology. In addition, while the structuralists established psychology as a pure science, the functionalists broadened this narrow focus by also concentrating on the practical application of psychology to real-world problems.  

  John Dewey is the main person credited as the founder of functionalism He was also a pragmatist. He was the first functionalist to apply functionalism to social problems and education. This explained the processes of natural continuous flow.  First there is a sensory perception then a process fallows and then that is preceded by a response.(S)ensory -> process -> (R)esponse

For example, a flame is the sensor and then reach is a response.  After that burning is a sensor and moving away is another response.

BehaviorismBehaviorism becomes a dominant school of thought

during the 1950s. From this concept, behavioral tendencies are determined by immediate association between various environmental causes and the degree of pleasure or pain that follows. Behavioral patterns, then, were understood to consist of organisms' conditioned responses to the stimuli in their environment. Behaviorism believed that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces. The external surrounding and environmental causes is the major factor in shaping the behavior of an individual. Generally, the behaviorist uses animals responses and compares them to man.

Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology founded by Sigmund Freud and this

school emphasizes the influence of unconscious mind or behavior. There are six assumptions that show the main ideas of psychoanalytic

theory.  One is that unconscious mental processes exist.  The second is all human behavior is motivated and purposeful.  Third, past experiences influence current changes and reactions.  Forth, personality functioning is very complex and can be understood through the Id, Ego, and Superego.  Fifth, thinking processes involve energy, strength and force.  Finally human behavior is influenced by interaction with the environment.

Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: id, ego and superego. The id is composed of primal urges, while the ego is the component of personality charged with dealing with reality. The superego is the part of personality that holds all of the ideals and values we internalize from our parents and culture. Freud believed that the interaction of these three elements was what led to all of the complex human behaviors.

 Freud compared the human psyche to an iceberg – only a small portion is visible to others with most of it lying below the surface. Freud also believed that many of the factors that influence our thoughts and actions lie outside of conscious awareness and operate entirely in our unconscious. Psychology therefore needed to study these unconscious drives, motives and impulses to arrive at a more complete understanding of the individual.

Sigmund Freud’s The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness.

According to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, personality is composed of three elements. These three elements of personality--known as the id, the ego and the superego--work together to create complex human behaviors.The IdThe id is the only component of personality that is present from birth. This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes of the instinctive and primitive behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic energy, making it the primary component of personality.The EgoThe ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality. According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.The SuperegoThe last component of personality to develop is the superego. The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of right and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.

Sometimes referred to as sexual instincts, the life instincts are those that deal with basic survival, pleasure, and reproduction. These instincts are important for sustaining the life of the individual as well as the continuation of the species. While they are often called sexual instincts, these drives also include such things as thirst, hunger, and pain avoidance. The energy created by the life instincts is known as libido.  Freud proposed that “the goal of all life is death” (1920). He concluded that people hold an unconscious desire to die, but that this wish is largely tempered by the life instincts.In Freud’s view, self-destructive behavior is an expression of the energy created by the death instincts. When this energy is directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression and violence

Karl Jung

Eventually, Jung began to separate from Freudian theory, rejecting Freud's emphasis on sex as the sole source of behavior motivation. It was during this period of intense self-analysis that Jung became increasingly interested in dreams and symbols, later using what he learned during this time as the basis for his theories of psychology.

Jung believed the human psyche exists in three parts: the ego (the conscious mind), the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Jung believed the collective unconscious was a reservoir of all the experience and knowledge of the human species.

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Humanistic psychology remains quite popular today and has had a major influence on other areas of psychology including positive psychology. This particular branch of psychology is centered on helping people living happier, more fulfilling lives. Humanism focused on fundamentally and uniquely human issues, such as individual free will, personal growth, self-actualization, self-identity, death, aloneness, freedom, and meaning.  

Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality.

Stage 1: Trust vs Mistrust (Age 0 to 18 months)Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (18 months to

3)Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt (3 to 5 years)Stage 4: Industry vs Inferiority (6 to 12 years)Stage 4: Identity vs Confusion (12 to 18 years)Stage 5: Intimacy vs Isolation (18 to 35 years)Stage 6: Generativity vs Stagnation (35 to 65years)Stage 7 Integrity vs Despair (65 to Death)

Maslow hierarchy

Physiological Needs: These include the most basic needs that are vital to survival, such as the need for water, air, food, and sleep. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive needs in the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.

Security Needs:These include needs for safety and security. Security needs are important for survival, but they are not as demanding as the physiological needs. Examples of security needs include a desire for steady employment, health insurance, safe neighborhoods, and shelter from the environment.

Social Needs:These include needs for belonging, love, and affection. Maslow considered these needs to be less basic than physiological and security needs. Relationships such as friendships, romantic attachments, and families help fulfill this need for companionship and acceptance, as does involvement in social, community, or religious groups.

Esteem Needs:After the first three needs have been satisfied, esteem needs becomes increasingly important. These include the need for things that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and accomplishment.

Self-actualizing Needs:This is the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.

Gestalt psychology

This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late 19th century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism. Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the gestalt psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience. According to the gestalt thinkers, the whole is much bigger and superior than the sum of its parts and one must look at the whole of experience, rather that splitting down the thoughts and behavior to their smallest units.

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics. Cognitive psychology began to emerge during the 1950s, partly as a response to behaviorism. Critics of behaviorism noted that it failed to account for how internal processes impacted behavior.

Areas of Psychology Abnormal Psychology is the study of abnormal behavior. This specialty area is focused on

research and treatment of a variety of mental disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and clinical psychology.

Biological Psychology studies how biological processes influence the mind and behavior. This area is closely linked to neuroscience and utilizes tools such as MRI and PET scans to look at brain injury or brain abnormalities.

Clinical Psychology is focused on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.

Cognitive Psychology is the study of human thought processes and cognitions. Cognitive psychologists study topics such as attention, memory, perception, decision-making, problem solving, and language acquisition.

Comparative Psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior.

Developmental Psychology is the branch of psychology that looks at human growth and development over the lifespan.

Forensic Psychology is an applied field focused on using psychological research and principles in the legal and criminal justice system.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology is the area of psychology that uses psychological research to enhance work performance, select employee, improve product design, and enhance usability.

Personality Psychology looks at the various elements that make up individual personalities. School Psychology is the branch of psychology that works within the educational system to

help children with emotional, social, and academic issues. Social Psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods to study social influence, social

perception, and social interaction. Social psychology studies diverse subjects including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, and prejudice.