Introduction to Psychology

Every human being behaves differently. In our daily conversations, we make remarks about how a certain child or person behaves or acts differently from others. Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. The word "psychology" is derived from two Greek words, "psyche" and "logos". Here, psyche means soul/mind, and logos means knowledge/science. Over time, various psychologists have provided multiple definitions of psychology. Some scientists have described psychology as the study of the soul, while others have described it as the study of the mind or consciousness. But all of them were rejected. According to the modern definition, psychology is the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of humans and animals. Psychology focuses on explaining people's mental processes and behaviors. Mainly, psychology discusses 4 subjects:

• Behavior
• Mental Process
• Humans and animals
• Science

The Scope of Psychology:

The field of psychology is vast and varied. For convenience and specialized study, the field of psychology can be divided into different branches. We divide it into two broad categories.

1. Pure/theoretical Psychology
2. Applied Psychology

1. Pure/Theoretical Psychology:

It is theoretical science. It aims to increase and advance human knowledge. There are many branches of pure psychology:

• General Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Para Psychology
• Geo Psychology

2. Applied Psychology:

It is a field that focuses on putting practical research into action. Branches of Applied psychology are:

• Legal Psychology
• Military Psychology
• Political Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Criminal Psychology

Apart from that, there are many other fields of psychology. Like Physiological Psychology, Engineering Psychology, Development Psychology, etc.

Psychology focuses on understanding a person’s emotions, personality, and mind through scientific studies, experiments, observation, and research. The study of psychology has four goals:

• To describe
• To explain
• To predict
• To control/change

School of Thoughts in Psychology:

There are a lot of schools of thought in Psychology. Each school of thought has its strengths and weaknesses, and each one brings something different to our understanding of the human mind and behavior. The major psychological school of thought is:

• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Psychoanalysis
• Behaviorism
• Gestalt Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt:

Wilhelm Wundt is known as the father of psychology. He was born in Germany in 1832. He established the very first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany in 1879. He also developed the theory of "structuralism".