Introduction to PsychologyCourse title: Introduction to PsychologyCourse code: PSY-101By: Muhammad Bilal Younas 0323-6168636

Objectives:On completion of this lecture the students

will be able to understand how Psychology has gained the status of a social science going through different periods of history.

Definition of PsychologyThe word of 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/soulPsychology is the science of mind and

behavior

Subject Matter of PsychologySubject Matter of psychology is A-B-C

A stands for AffectB stands for- Behavior (Overt and Covert

Behavior)C stands for- Cognition

Psychology for Eco students?Understanding human tendencies to behave

in certain ways to different situations allows us a lot of opportunity to create efficiency and success.

If we can better understand why people do what they do, and how they react under certain circumstances, we can create opportunities for individuals to succeed and thrive based on their strengths.

Industrial/Organizational PsychologyThese types of psychologists are interested in

making the worker/business more efficient.

They contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance and well-being of its people.

Historical background of PsychologyThe roots of Psychology can be traced back

to some half million years. Primitive people assumed that behavior was caused by the presence of good and evil souls .

People have been interested in the behavior of other people throughout history so that roots of psychology may be found in philosophy, religion, and science.

We can divide history period into two periods Pre scientific periodScientific period

Pre scientific period Some of our modern ideas of mind came from

ancient Greece. Term Psychology was derived from the Greek word ‘Psyche’ (soul) and ‘logos’ (knowledge). It eventually came to mean the “study of the mind”

Pre scientific period can be divided into three sub periods .

i) Greek periodii) Middle agesiii) Islamic period

Greek periodSome early Greek philosophers regarded Psyche

as a substance. This substance was thought to control the body. Some Greek philosophers are:

Hippocrates (430 B.C): Greek physician Hippocrates thought that personality was made up of four temperaments and these temperaments were influenced by the presence of “humors or fluids” in the body. The problem of interest to the early Greek philosophers was the relationship between “mind” and body.

Greek periodPlato(427-347 B.C)He stressed the controlling influence of soul

or mind.He postulated the theory of mind body

dualism and held the view that as long as the soul remains in the body, the man is alive, and when it leaves the body, the man dies.

Greek periodAristotle(384-322 B.C)Rejected the Plato’s theory and suggested that

mind is a function of the body itself just as vision is a function of the eye.

His concept of mind as a function of bodily processes was an important step in the direction of making Psychology a science.

Attention turned, eventually, from pure speculation about the mind to the study of organism.

Middle agesPlotinus(205-270):He was influenced by Plato and Aristotle’s

thoughts.He tried to understand religious beliefs through

reasoning.St. Augustine(354-430):Being a Christian philosopher, he believed that

human being is interaction of soul and body.

Middle ages

He was founder of introspective method. He thought that an individual can understand

his own inner feelings.

Islamic PeriodIf the ideas of modern Psychologists about

mental health are assessed, we come to know that these are based on the views of Islamic philosophers and thinkers.

The Muslim philosophers described the principles of life in the light if Quran and the Sunnah.

Islamic PeriodHere a brief description of Muslim

philosophers may be added into the history of psychology.

Alkundi(803-873):He was a great Arab philosopher. He

believed that our souls have originated from God’s soul. According to him, our real happiness lies in the reason and spiritual life.

Islamic PeriodHe tried to combine religion and philosophy

as both seek reality; philosophy focuses on theoretical aspects whereas religion stresses upon actions.

Al- Farabi (870-950) He wrote more than 80 books on various

topics. He believed that a man is composed of body and soul, which belong to God.

God is immortal and above all human thoughts. Farabi was influenced by the teachings of Plato and Aristotle.

Ibn-e-Sina (980-1037)He was physician, poet and psychologist all

in one. According to him, there are three kinds of mind :Human mind, Animal mind , and vegetable mind.

Only the Human mind possess reason and intelligence. He said that physical illness could be treated with medicine but mental illness could be treated psychologically with religion.

He thought that body had no link with mind; body perishes but mind remains alive.

Imam Ghazali (1058-1111)He wrote a number of books on religion.

According to him those obsessed with love of God and treading the right path do not contact mental disorders. Therefore , he also instructed people to follow the right path.

He said that , this world is a place of actions and hard work and no body was allowed to remain idle in life. He viewed that man was recognized by his actions.

He stressed upon children’s education. He said children’s capabilities must be assessed for proper education. He thought that mental diseases were caused by negative emotional problems and one should get rid of them.

Allama Bin Khaldun (1332-1406)He proposed the theories of social psychology

and explained human beliefs , prejudices , attitudes and other subject matters.

According to him , religion influences human mind and whole life.

Shah Wali Ullah ( 1702-1763)He wrote many books and made a deep study of

human mind and behavior. He discovered the causes of mental disorders and treated them .

According to him conflict goes on between positive and negative forces within human mind and healthy personality develops only by striking balance b/w the two. If irrational ideas are in excess, mental health is affected.

Scientific Period This period may be divided into two sub

periods:1. Renaissance Period: Following are the important figures of this

period:

Francis Bacon (1564-1642)He was founder of modern science. He

separated science from religion and philosophy. He proposed several theories upon education, habits and human personality.

He emphasized the importance of observation instead of speculation.

Descartes (1596-1650):He thought organism as complicated

mechanism which could be activated by light, sound and other stimuli.

Although he had a very inadequate concept of the structures and functions of the nervous system, his study of the human organism brought fresh insight to psychology.

John Lock (1632-1704):He believed we were born with empty mind

in the world, like blank slates upon which all of life’s experiences could be written .

Other influences on early psychology came from biology and physics.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882):In his book” The Origin of Species” in

1859,he outlined his theory of evolution. In his theory he suggested that animals and people show behavior that is adaptive to the environment and helpful to their survival.

Hermann Von Helmholtz (1820-1894)He Measured the speed of nerve impulse and

set forth a theory of color vision for our perception of musical tones.

Paul Broca (1860)A French physician identified a part of the

brain (still called “Broca Area”) working as control centre for speech.

Weber (1795-1878) :About the middle of 19th century the

discoveries made in physics gave rise to a new field known as “psychophysics”

Weber observed the relationship between changes in the physical stimuli and human ability to perceive changes.

Fechner (1866):He looked into mathematical connection

between the physical and psychological changes.

For the first time it had been demonstrated that psychological phenomenon could be quantified and investigated with scientific method.