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What Is Psychology?
One of the most common questions asked by students new to the study of psychology is
"What is psychology?" Misperceptions created by popular media as well as the diverse
careers paths of those holding psychology degrees have contributed this confusion.
Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. Research in
psychology seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion, and behavior. Applications
of psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, self-help,
ergonomics, and many other areas affecting health and daily life.
Early Psychology
Psychology evolved out of both philosophy and biology. Such discussions of the two
subjects date as far back as the early Greek thinkers such as Aristotle and Socrates. The
word psychology is derived from the Greek word psyche, meaning ‘soul’ or ‘mind.’
The Origins of Psychology
While the psychology of today reflects the discipline’s rich and varied history, the origins of
psychology differ significantly from contemporary conceptions of the field. In order to gain a
full understanding of psychology, you need to spend some time exploring its history and origins.
How did psychology originate? When did it begin? Who were the people responsible for
establishing psychology as a separate science?
Why Study Psychology History?
Contemporary psychology is interested in an enormous range of topics, looking a human
behavior and mental process from the neural level to the cultural level. Psychologists study
human issues that begin before birth and continue until death. By understanding the history of
psychology, you can gain a better understanding of how these topics are studied and what we
have learned thus far.
Questions in Psychology
From its earliest beginnings, psychology has been faced with a number of different questions.
The initial question of how to define psychology helped establish it as a science separate from
physiology and philosophy. Additional questions that psychologists have faced throughout
history include:
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What topics and issues should psychology be concerned with?
What research methods should be used to study psychology?
Should psychologists use research to influence public policy, education, and other aspects
of human behavior?
Is psychology really a science? Should psychology focus on observable behaviors, or on
internal mental processes?
The Beginnings of Psychology: Philosophy and Physiology
While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800s, its earliest
history can be traced back to the time of the early Greeks. During the 17th-century, the
French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that
the mind and body were two separate entities that interact to form the human experience.
Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as the relative contributions
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of nature vs. nurture, are rooted in these early philosophical traditions. Charles Darwin
and his theory of evolution is important to the beginning of psychology due to the
inspiration to scientists to study animals in an attempt to better understand humans.
So what makes psychology different from philosophy? While early philosophers relied
on methods such as observation and logic, today’s psychologists utilize scientific
methodologies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behavior.
Physiology also contributed to psychology’s eventual emergence as a scientific
discipline. Early physiology research on brain and behavior had a dramatic impact on
psychology, ultimately contributing to the application of scientific methodologies to the
study of human thought and behavior.
The History of Phrenology
"Before phrenology] all we knew about the brain was, how to slice it..." -- R. Chenevix
(phrenologist), 1828.
Phrenology was a faculty psychology, theory of brain and science of character reading, what
the 19th-century phrenologists called "the only true science of mind." Phrenology was
derived from the theories of the idiosyncratic Viennese physician Franz Joseph Gall (17581828). The basic tenets of Gall's system were:
1. The brain is the organ of the mind.
2. The mind is composed of multiple distinct, innate faculties.
3. Because they are distinct, each faculty must have a separate seat or "organ" in the brain.
4. The size of an organ, other things being equal, is a measure of its power.
5. The shape of the brain is determined by the development of the various organs.
6. As the skull takes its shape from the brain, the surface of the skull can be read as an
accurate index of psychological aptitudes and tendencies.
So it was
believed that
by examining
the shape and
unevenness of
a head or skull,
one could
discover the
development
of the
particular
cerebral "organs" responsible for different intellectual aptitudes and character traits. For
example, a prominent protuberance in the forehead at the position attributed to the organ of
Benevolence was meant to indicate that the individual had a "well developed" organ of
Benevolence and would therefore be expected to exhibit benevolent behavior.
However, like so many popular sciences, Gall and the phrenologists sought only
confirmations for their hypotheses and did not apply the same standard to contradictory
evidence. Any evidence or anecdote which seemed to confirm the science was readily and
vociferously accepted as "proof" of the "truth" of phrenology. At the same time,
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contradictory findings, such as a not very benevolent and disagreeable person having a welldeveloped organ of Benevolence were always explained away. This was often done by
claiming that the activity of other organs counteracted Benevolence. What was never
accepted by phrenologists, however, was that admitting that the activity of a particular
faculty could be independent of the size of its organ undermined the most fundamental
assumptions of the science- and thereby rendered all of its conclusions inconsistent and
meaningless.
Late-Victorian Occultism
According to Birch, occultism characteristically insisted on "the substantial actuality of
mental process" and "on symbols as a key to insight." Although to some extent, lateVictorian loss of faith in traditional forms of Christianity stimulated the rise of occultism,
its practitioners often believed they had not exchanged one form of supernaturalism for
another. "Devotees of the occult," in fact, maintained that they were not immersed in
alternative versions of the supernatural. Like scientists -- indeed, some were scientists -they were enlarging the boundaries of the natural, so that spiritual experience could be
assimilated into the newly secularized mind. The Theosophical Society, headed by the
charismatic Madame Blavatsky, had no truck with the ritual magic of the Order of the
Golden Dawn, but it too denied any entanglement with the marvelous. . . . Occult practice
was founded on the discipline and examined consciousness, and in that respect it was
related to the psychological and psychoanalytical sciences of the time. With their careful
scrutiny of dreams and symbols, and their recognition that mental energies could be other
than rational, occult explorations had much in common with innovations in psychology.
Questions
1. What is a definition of psychology?
2. Studying the history of psychology allows for a better understanding of what?
3. Why was Darwin’s theory important to psychology?
4. Today’s psychologist utilize what to draw conclusions about human thought & behavior?
5. What was the true science of the mind and what was missing from this theory?
A Separate Science
The field and study of psychology was truly born when Wilhelm Wundt established the
first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Wundt's research utilized a school of thought
known as structuralism, which involved describing the structures that compose the mind.
This perspective relies heavily on the analysis of sensations and feelings through the use
of introspection, a highly subjective process.
Wundt believed that properly trained individuals would be able to accurately identify the
mental processes that accompanied feelings, sensations, and thoughts.
Various Psychologist and Their Theories
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt was using scientific research methods to investigate reaction times. His book
published in 1874, Principles of Physiological Psychology, outlined many of the major
connections between the science of physiology and the study of human thought and behavior. He
later opened the first world’s first psychology lab in 1879 at the University of Leipzig. This
event is generally considered the official start of psychology as a separate and distinct scientific
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discipline.
How did Wundt view psychology? He perceived the subject as the study of human consciousness
and sought to apply experimental methods to studying internal mental processes. While his use
of a process known as introspection is seen as unreliable and unscientific today, his early work in
psychology helped set the stage for future experimental methods. An estimated 17,000 students
attended Wundt’s psychology lectures, and hundreds more pursued degrees in psychology and
studied in his psychology lab. While his influence dwindled in the years to come, his impact on
psychology is unquestionable.
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher. He wrote
influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology,
psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and the philosophy of pragmatism.
James spent his entire academic career at Harvard. James studied medicine, physiology,
and biology, and began to teach in those subjects, but was drawn to the scientific study of
the human mind at a time when psychology just starting to be considered as a science. He
taught his first experimental psychology course at Harvard in the 1875-1876 academic
year.
James was one of the strongest proponents of the school of Functionalism in psychology
and of Pragmatism in philosophy. James’ pragmatism included the view that the world is
a mosaic of diverse experiences that only be properly understood through an application
of “radical empiricism.” Radical empiricism, distinct from everyday scientific
empiricism presumes that nature and experience can never be frozen for absolutely
objective analysis, that at the very least, the mind of the observer will affect the outcome
of any empirical approach to truth since, empirically, the mind and nature are inseparable.
James’ emphasis on diversity as the default human has maintained a strong influence in
American culture, especially among liberals. James’ description of the mind-world
connection, which described in terms of a “stream of consciousness,” had direct and
significant impact on avant-garde and modernist literature and art.
The Psychology of Sigmund Freud
Up to this point, early psychology stressed conscious human experience. An Austrian
physician named Sigmund Freud changed the face of psychology in a dramatic way, proposing
a theory of personality that emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind. Freud’s
clinical work with patients suffering from hysteria and other ailments led him to believe that
early childhood experiences and unconscious impulses contributed to the development of adult
personality and behavior.
In his book The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Freud detailed how these unconscious
thoughts and impulses are expressed, often through slips of the tongue and dreams. According
to Freud, psychological disorders are the result of these unconscious conflicts becoming
extreme or unbalanced.
The psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud had a tremendous impact on 20thcentury thought, influencing the mental health field as well as other areas including art,
literature, and popular culture. While many of his ideas are viewed with skepticism today, his
influence on psychology is undeniable.
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Pavlov
Psychology changed dramatically during the early 20th-century as another school of thought
known as behaviorism rose to dominance. Behaviorism was a major change from previous
theoretical perspectives, rejecting the emphasis on both the conscious and unconscious mind.
Instead, behaviorism strove to make psychology a more scientific discipline by focusing
purely on observable behavior.
Behaviorism had it’s earliest start with the work of a Russian physiologist named Ivan
Pavlov. Pavlov’s research on the digestive systems of dogs led to his discovery of the
classical conditioning process, which demonstrated that behaviors could be learned via
conditioned associations.
Pavlov demonstrated that this learning process could be used to make and association
between and environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.
Watson
An American psychologist named John B. Watson soon became one of the strongest
advocates of behaviorism. Initially outlining the basics principles of this new school of
thought in his 1913 paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It, Watson later went on to
offer a definition in his classic book Behaviorism (1924), writing:
“Behaviorism…holds that the subject matter of human psychology is
the behavior of the human being. Behaviorism claims that
consciousness is neither a definite nor a usable concept. The
behaviorist, who has been trained always as an experimentalist, holds,
further, that belief in the existence of consciousness goes back to the
ancient days of superstition and magic.”
Skinner
The impact of behaviorism was enormous, and this school of thought continued to
dominate for the next 50 years. Psychologist B.F. Skinner furthered the behaviorist
perspective with his concept of operant conditioning, which demonstrated the effect of
punishment and reinforcement on behavior. While behaviorism eventually lost its hold on
psychology, the basic principles of behavioral psychology are still widely in use today.
Therapeutic techniques such as behavioral modification and token economies are often
utilized to help children learn new skills and overcome maladaptive behaviors, while
conditioning is used in many situations ranging from parenting to education.
Rogers and Maslow
While the first half of the twentieth-century was dominated by psychoanalysis and
behaviorism, a new school of thought known as humanistic psychology emerged during
the second half of the century. Often referred to as the “third force” in psychology, this
theoretical perspective emphasized conscious experiences.
American psychologist Carl Rogers is often considered the founding father humanism
psychology. While psychoanalysts looked at unconscious impulses and behaviorists
focused purely on environmental causes, Rogers believed strongly in the power of free
will and self-determination. Psychologist Abraham Maslow also contributed to
humanistic psychology with his famous hierarchy of needs theory of human motivation.
Schools of Thought
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Thoughout psychology’s history, a number of different school of thought have thought
have formed to explain human thought and behavior. These schools of thought often rise
to dominance for a period of time. While these schools of thought are sometimes
perceived as competing forces, each perspective has contributed to our understanding of
psychology. The following are some of the major schools of thought in psychology.

Structuralism
Structuralism Becomes Psychology’s First School of Thought
Edward B. Titchener, one of Wundt’s most famous students,
would go on to found psychology’s first major school of thought.
According to the structuralists, human consciousness could be
broken down into much smaller parts. Using a process known as
introspection, trained subjects would attempt to break down their
responses and reactions to the most basic sensation and
perceptions. While structuralism is notable for its emphasis on
scientific research, its methods were unreliable, limiting, and
subjective. When Titchener died in 1927, structuralism
essentially died with him.
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Functionalism
Psychology flourished in American during the mid- to late1800s. William James emerged as one of the major American
psychologists during this period and the publication of his classic
textbook, The Principles of Psychology, established him as the
father of American psychology. His book soon became the
standard text in psychology and his ideas eventually served as
the basis for a new school of thought known as functionalism.
The focus of functionalism was on how behavior actually works
to help people live in their environment. Functionalists utilized
methods such as direct observation. While both of these early
schools of thought emphasized human consciousness, their
conceptions of it were significantly different. While the
structuralists sought to break down mental processes into their
smallest parts, the functionalists believed that consciousness
existed as a more continuous and changing process. While
functionalism is no longer a separate school of thought, it would
go on to influence later psychologists and theories of human
thought and behavior.
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Psychoanalysis
The psychoanalytic approach understands us from the point of
view of our unconscious and early childhood experiences. The
contents of our unconscious can give us a neurosis, which is an
anxiety state that affects the quality of your life. Freud's
psychodynamic structure of personality suggests that our
behavior is influenced by id, ego and superego. We are born id,
and acquire ego and superego by puberty. Freud also has a theory
of adult personality development, where he says our personality
develops in stages during childhood.
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An application of the approach is found in psychoanalytic
psychotherapy. Features of psychoanalytic psychotherapy
include free association, dream analysis, analysis of paraphrases,
resistance, regression using hypnosis and transference.
The main limitation of the psychoanalytic approach is evidence
generated in its support. The case study is non-scientific. Further,
it is hugely difficult to scientifically or otherwise, find support
for its hypothetical constructs like id, ego superego etc. The
psychoanalyytic approach believes it is the social, rather than the
sexual world, that has a greater influence on our personality
development.
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Behaviorism
Behaviorism originated with the work of John B. Watson, an
American psychologist. Watson claimed that psychology was not
concerned with the mind or with human consciousness. Instead,
psychology would be concerned only with behavior. Today it is
associated with the name of B.F. Skinner, who made his
reputation by testing Watson's theories in the laboratory. Skinner
developed the theory of "operant conditioning," the idea that we
behave the way we do because this kind of behavior has had
certain consequences in the past. For example, if your girlfriend
gives you a kiss when you give her flowers, you will be likely to
give her flowers when you want a kiss. You will be acting in
expectation of a certain reward. Like Watson, however, Skinner
denied that the mind or feelings play any part in determining
behavior. Instead, our experience of reinforcements determines
our behavior.
Behaviorism is a theory of animal and human learning that only
focuses on objectively observable behaviors and discounts
mental activities. Behavior theorists define learning as nothing
more than the acquisition of new behavior. Experiments by
behaviorists identify conditioning as a universal learning
process.
There have been many criticisms of behaviorism, including the
following:
1. Behaviorism does not account for all kinds of learning, since it
disregards the activities of the mind.
2. Behaviorism does not explain some learning--such as the
recognition of new language patterns by young children--for which
there is no reinforcement mechanism.
3. Research has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns
to new information. For instance, a rat can shift its behavior to
respond to changes in the layout of a maze it had previously
mastered through reinforcements.
This theory is relatively simple to understand because it relies only
on observable behavior and describes several universal laws of
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behavior. Its positive and negative reinforcement techniques can be
very effective--both in animals, and in treatments for human
disorders such as autism and antisocial behavior. Behaviorism
often is used by teachers, who reward or punish student behaviors.
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Humanism
The humanistic approach, aka Third Force psychology, explains us as
individuals in terms of our subjective interpretation of past experience. Or life
as it has affected our personality. It is an approach in psychology that is
interested in what it means to be human. It came about as a reaction to the
behaviorist approach, and the psychoanalytic approach. It believes we have an
inbuilt biological drive that motivates us towards personal growth, and the
healthy psychological state of self-actualization.
The humanistic approach emphasizes the importance of ‘self’, which is who
we think we are as a person. The self is your personality. Influential figures in
the development of the approach include Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
Maslow gave the humanistic approach his theory of self-actualization as
illustrated by his hierarchy of needs. Rogers extended Maslow’s work into the
field of humanistic person-centered psychotherapy with his emphasis on
empathy; unconditional positive regard and genuineness. Creating these
conditions for growth in therapy facilitate an environment that helps the client
become a more fully functioning person. This application of theory in clinical
practice moves the person from incongruence to congruence or from a poor
perceived self to a more psychologically healthy ideal self. The ultimate in
personal growth is the fully functioning person who has achieved selfactualization. The notion of self-actualization lacks empirical support, but
correlations have been generated to help validate the effectiveness of the
approach in practice.
The humanistic approach has had a global impact within and out of
psychology, especially in the areas of humanistic psychotherapy and person
centered counseling. Its immense popularity with clients would appear to
suggest that they do not view the approaches lack of scientific support as
problematic!
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Cognitivism
The cognitive approach studies our information processes of perception,
attention, language, memory, and thinking, and how they influence our
thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It considers each, and their contribution to
our ability to operate successfully in our world. The cognitive approach
rightfully views us as active processors of information from our outside world.
We are not passive learners, as behaviorism would have us believe.
This is emphasized in the mediation nature of our information processes as
illustrated by the computer analogy. Individual cognitions further explore this
fact. Perception for example is understood from the point of view of our
senses working in tandem with an innate ability called gestalten, and our
previous past experience of stimuli in our world. It is previous past experience
that makes the difference between one person's perception and another's. What
is meaningful to you also influences another crucial information process,
memory, and as a result your ability, or otherwise, to think and problem solve.
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All our information processes, while studied individually, work collectively as
we operate in and through our environment.
The cognitive approach has had a huge influence over the last 30 years, and
continues to do so. It has been applied to the world of advertising, marketing,
public relations, work, society, politics etc. However, anything the cognitive
approach discovers about our cognitions, and their influence on our behaviors
has to be inferred. This is because cognitions are hypothetical constructs. This
has led to criticisms, such as a lack of ecological validity, being levied at the
approach. It also ignores biological and social factors, and their interaction of
both, as further reasons behind why we think, feel, and behave as we do.
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Biopsychology
Psychology has been known as the science of brain and behavior and we
know that our nervous system has a great influence on our behavior. This
biological approach is based on our understanding of our evolutionary past
and the theories of Darwin. This is evolutionary psychology, and its
assumptions and ideas stimulate discussion, as does another related debate,
nature vs. nurture. These ideas are illustrated and discussed in this chapter.
The central theme is, of course, the understanding of the nervous system; the
central nervous system (CNS) consisting of the brain and spinal cord, and the
peripheral nervous system (PNS) made up of the nerves that go into and out of
the CNS. This approach is concerned with how does our brain and nerve cells
work and how they communicate.
The biopyschological approach works to understand the effect of drugs on our
moods and behavior. It also helps drug companies to develop increasingly
effective products to affect behavior.
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Socioculturalism
Sociocultural approach to psychology is a variety of cognitive constructivism
that emphasizes the collaborative nature of much learning. Socioculturalism
was developed by post-revolutionary Soviet psychologist, Lev Vygotsky.
This theory suggests that social interaction leads to continuous step-by-step
changes in children's thought and behavior that can vary greatly from culture
to culture. Basically Vygotsky's theory suggests that development depends on
interaction with people and the tools that the culture provides to help form
their own view of the world. His theory combines the social environment and
cognition. Children will acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make
up a culture by interacting with a more knowledgeable person. Vygotsky
believed that social interaction will lead to ongoing changes in a child's
thought and behavior. Theses thoughts and behaviors would vary between
cultures. When the Cold War ended, Vygotsky's works were revealed.
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Psychology Today
Today, psychologists prefer to use more objective scientific methods to understand,
explain, and predict human behavior. Psychological studies are highly structured,
beginning with a hypothesis that is then empirically tested. Psychology has two major
areas of focus: academic psychology and applied psychology. Academic psychology
focuses on the study of different sub-topics within psychology including personality
psychology, social psychology, and developmental psychology.
These psychologists conduct basic research that seeks to expand our theoretical
knowledge, while other researchers conduct applied research that seeks to solve everyday
problems. Applied psychology focuses on the use of different psychological principles to
solve real world problems. Examples of applied areas of psychology include forensic
psychology, ergonomics, and industrial-organizational psychology. Many other
psychologists work as therapists, helping people overcome mental, behavioral, and
emotional disorders.
Psychology Research Methods
As psychology moved away from its philosophical roots, psychologists began to employ
more and more scientific methods to study human behavior. Today, researchers employ a
variety of scientific methods, including experiments, correlational studies, longitudinal
studies, and others to test, explain, and predict behavior.
Areas of Psychology
Psychology is a broad and diverse field. A number of different subfields and specialty
areas have emerged. The following are some of the major areas of research and
application within psychology:
Abnormal Psychology is the study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. This
specialty area is focused on research and treatment of a variety of and is linked to
psychotherapy and clinical psychology. Mental health professional typically utilize these
to diagnose mental disorders.
Biological Psychology, also known as biopsychology, 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. The study of animal behavior can lead to a deeper and broader
understanding of human psychology.
Developmental Psychology is the branch of psychology that looks at human growth and
development over the lifespan. Theories often focus on the development of cognitive
abilities, morality, social functioning, identity, and other life areas.
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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. Well-known personality theories include Freud’s structural model of
personality and the “Big Five” theory of personality.
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.
Questions
1. What important theory did Sigmund Freud propose?
2. Which psychological approach states that we are the product of learning and associations?
3. What are the basic beliefs of the humanistic approach of psychology?
4. Which psychological approach is the newest?
5. Create a chart using each of the different schools of thought (pgs. 6-9) listing the
psychologist and areas of psychology (listed on pages. 10-11) that should be associated with
each school of thought.
6. Which psychological approach (school of thought) do you think is the most scientific and why?
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