Chapter

Psyychology?
What is Ps

After reading this chapter, you would be able to

understand the nature and role of psychology in understanding mind

and behaviour,
state the growth of the discipline,
know the different fields of psychology, its relationship with other
disciplines, and professions, and
appreciate the value of psychology in daily life to help you understand
yourself and others better.

Contents

The growth of the human mind

is still high adventure,
in many ways the highest
adventure on earth.
Norman Cousins

Introduction
What is Psychology?
Psychology as a Discipline
Psychology as a Natural Science
Psychology as a Social Science
Understanding Mind and Behaviour
Popular Notions about the Discipline of Psychology
Evolution of Psychology
Some Interesting Landmarks in the Evolution of
Modern Psychology (Box 1.1)
Development of Psychology in India
Branches of Psychology
Themes of Research and Applications
Psychology and Other Disciplines
Psychologists at Work
Psychology in Everyday Life
Key Terms
Summary
Review Questions
Project Ideas

Introduction
You were, perhaps, asked by your teacher in the first class why you opted for
psychology over other subjects. What do you hope to learn? If you were asked this
question, what was your response? Generally, the range of responses which surface
in class to this question are truly bewildering. Most students give inane responses,
like they want to know what others are thinking. But then one also comes across
such responses as knowing oneself, knowing others or more specific responses like
knowing why people dream, why people go out of their way to help others or beat
each other up. All ancient traditions have engaged themselves with questions about
human nature. The Indian philosophical traditions, in particular, deal with questions
relating to why people behave in the manner in which they do. Why are people
generally unhappy? What changes should they bring about in themselves if they
desire happiness in their lives. Like all knowledge, psychological knowledge too is
intended to contribute to human well-being. If the world is full of misery, it is largely
due to humans themselves. Perhaps, you have asked why a 9/11 or war in Iraq
happened. Why innocent people in Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar or in the North-East
have to face bombs and bullets? Psychologists ask what is in the experiences of
young men which turn them into terrorists seeking revenge. But there is another
side to human nature. You may have heard the name of Major HPS Ahluwalia,
paralysed waist down because of an injury he suffered in a war with Pakistan,
who climbed the Mt. Everest. What moved him to climb such heights? These are not
only questions about human nature which psychology addresses as a human
science. You will be surprised to learn that modern psychology also deals with
somewhat nebulous micro-level phenomenon like consciousness, focusing attention
in the face of noise, or supporters trying to burn down a shopping complex after
their team had scored victory in a football game over its traditional rival. Psychology
cannot claim that answers have been found to these complex questions. But it
surely has improved upon our understanding and how we make sense of these
phenomena. The most striking aspect of the discipline, unlike other sciences, lies in
the study of psychological processes which are largely internal and available to
humans for observation within themselves.

WHAT

IS

PSYCHOLOGY?

Any knowledge discipline is hard to define.

Firstly, because it evolves continuously.
Secondly, because the range of phenomena it
studies cannot be captured by any one
definition. This is even more true of psychology.
Long time back, students like yourself were told
that the term psychology is derived from two
Greek words psyche meaning soul and logos
meaning science or study of a subject. Thus,
2

Psychology

psychology was a study of the soul or mind.

But since then it has moved away considerably
from this focus and established itself as a
scientific discipline which deals with processes
underlying human experience and behaviour.
The range of phenomena it studies, some of
which we mentioned above, are spread over
several levels, viz. individual, dyadic (two
person) group, and organisational. They also
have biological as well as social bases.
Naturally, therefore, the methods required to

study them also vary greatly depending on the

phenomenon one wants to study. A discipline
is defined both in terms of what it studies and
how it studies. In fact, more in terms of how or
method/s it uses. Keeping this in view,
psychology is defined formally as a science
which studies mental processes, experiences
and behaviour in different contexts. In doing
so, it uses methods of biological and social
sciences to obtain data systematically. It makes
sense of these data so that they can be
organised as knowledge. Let us try to
understand the three terms used in the
definition, namely, mental processes,
experience, and behaviour.
When we say experiences are internal to
the experiencing person, we refer to states of
consciousness or awareness or mental
processes. We use our mental processes when
we think or try to solve a problem, to know or
remember something. One level at which these
mental processes are reflected is the brain
activity. As we think or solve a mathematical
problem, our brain activities can be observed
using different techniques of brain imaging.
However, we cannot say that brain activities
and mental processes are the same, although
they are interdependent. Mental activities and
neural activities are mutually overlapping
processes but, they are not identical. Unlike
the brain, the mind does not have a physical
structure or has a location. Mind emerges and
evolves as our interactions and experiences
in this world get dynamically organised in the
form of a system which is responsible for the
occurrence of various mental processes.
Brain activities provide important clues to
how our mind functions. But the
consciousness of our own experiences and
mental processes are much more than the
neural or brain activities. Even when we are
asleep some mental activities go on. We
dream, and receive some information such
as a knock on the door while we are asleep.
Some psychologists have shown that we also
learn and remember in our sleep. Mental
processes, such as remembering, learning,
knowing, perceiving, feeling are of interest to
psychologists. They study these processes

trying to understand how the mind works and

to help us improve the uses and applications
of these mental capacities.
Psychologists also study experiences of
people. Experiences are subjective in nature.
We cannot directly observe or know someone
elses experience. Only the experiencing person
can be aware or be conscious of her or his
experiences. Thus, experiences are embedded
in our awareness or consciousness.
Psychologists have focused on experiences of
pain being undergone by terminally ill patients
or of psychological pain felt in bereavement,
besides experiences which lead to positive
feelings, such as in romantic encounters.
There are some esoteric experiences also which
attract attention of psychologists, such as
when a Yogi meditates to enter a different level
of consciousness and creates a new kind of
experience or when a drug addict takes a
particular kind of drug to get a high, even
though such drugs are extremely harmful.
Experiences are influenced by internal and the
external conditions of the experiencer. If you
are travelling in a crowded bus during a hot
summer day, you may not experience the
usual discomfort if you are going for a picnic
with some close friends. Thus, the nature of
experience can only be understood by
analysing a complex set of internal and
external conditions.
Behaviours are responses or reactions we
make or activities we engage in. When
something is hurled at you, your eyes blink in
a simple reflex action. You are taking an
examination and can feel your heart pounding.
You decide to go for a particular movie with a
friend. Behaviours may be simple or complex,
short or enduring. Some behaviours are overt.
They can be outwardly seen or sensed by an
observer. Some are internal or covert. When
you are in a difficult situation while playing a
game of chess you almost feel your hand
muscles twitching, trying to experiment with
a move. All behaviours, covert or overt, are
associated with or triggered by some stimulus
in the environment or changes that happen
internally. You may see a tiger and run or think
that there is a tiger and decide to flee. Some
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

psychologists study behaviour as an

association between stimulus (S) and response
(R). Both stimulus and response can be
internal or external.
Psychology as a Discipline
As we have discussed above, psychology
studies behaviour, experience and mental
processes. It seeks to understand and explain
how the mind works and how different mental
processes result in different behaviours. When
we observe others as lay or common persons,
our own points of view or our ways of
understanding the world influence our
interpretations of their behaviours and
experiences. Psychologists try to minimise
such biases in their explanations of behaviour
and experience in various ways. Some do so
by seeking to make their analysis scientific
and objective. Others seek to explain
behaviour from the point of view of the
experiencing persons because they think that
subjectivity is a necessary aspect of human
experience. In the Indian tradition, selfreflection and analysis of our conscious
experiences, is held to be a major source of
psychological understanding. Many western
psychologists have also begun to emphasise
the role of self-reflection and self-knowledge
in understanding human behaviour and
experience. Regardless of the differences in the
way psychologists go about the study of
behaviour, mental processes and experiences,
they seek to understand and explain them in
a systematic and verifiable manner.
Psychology, though it is a very old
knowledge discipline, is a young science, if one
were to take the year of the founding of the
first laboratory of psychology in 1879 in
Leipzig. However, what kind of science is
psychology, still remains a matter of debate,
particularly because of the new interfaces of
it that have emerged in recent times.
Psychology is generally categorised as a social
science. But it should not come to you as a
surprise that, not only in other countries, but
also in India, it is also a subject of study offered
in the faculty of science, both at the
undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Many
4

Psychology

students go on to earn a B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree

in universities. In fact, two of the most sought
after emerging disciplines which continuously
borrow from psychology are Neuroscience and
Computer Science. Some of us would be aware
of the fast developing brain imaging techniques
like fMRI, EEG, etc. which make it possible to
study brain processes in real time, i.e. when
they are actually taking place. Similarly, in IT
areas, both human-computer interaction and
artificial intelligence cannot possibly grow
without psychological knowledge in cognitive
processes. Thus, psychology as a discipline
today has two parallel streams. One which
makes use of the method in physical and
biological sciences and the other which makes
use of the method of social and cultural
sciences in studying various psychological and
social phenomena. These streams sometimes
converge only to drift apart and go their
separate ways. In the first case, psychology
considers itself as a discipline, which focuses
largely on biological principles to explain
human behaviour. It assumes that all
behavioural phenomena have causes which can
be discovered if we can collect data
systematically under controlled conditions.
Here the aim of the researcher is to know cause
and effect relationship so that a prediction of
the behavioural phenomenon can be made and
behaviour can be controlled if need be. On the
other hand, psychology as a social science
focuses on how behavioural phenomena can
be explained in terms of the interaction that
takes place between the person and the sociocultural context of which s/he is a part. Each
behavioural phenomenon is assumed to have
multiple causes. Let us now discuss these two
streams separately.
Psychology as a Natural Science
It has been mentioned earlier that psychology
has its roots in philosophy. However, modern
psychology has developed because of the
application of the scientific method to study
psychological phenomenon. Science places a
great deal of emphasis on objectivity which
can be obtained if there is consensus on the
definition of a concept and how it can be

measured. Psychology influenced by Descartes

and later on by the developments in physics
has grown by following what is called a
hypothetico-deductive model. The model
suggests that scientific advancement can take
place if you have a theory to explain a
phenomenon. For example, physicists have
what is called a Big-bang theory to explain
how the universe came to be formed. Theory
is nothing else but a set of statements about
how a certain complex phenomenon can be
explained with the help of propositions which
are interrelated. Based on a theory, scientists
deduce or propose a hypothesis, that offers a
tentative explanation of how a certain
phenomenon takes place. The hypothesis then
is tested and proved true or false based on
empirical data that one has gathered. The
theory is revised if data gathered point in a
different direction than the one suggested by
the hypothesis. Using the above approach
psychologists have developed theories of
learning, memory, attention, perception,
motivation and emotion, etc. and have made
significant progress. Till date, most of the
research in psychology follows this approach.
Apart from this, psychologists have also been
considerably influenced by the evolutionary
approach which is dominant in biological
sciences. This approach has also been used
to explain diverse kinds of psychological
phenomenon such as attachment and
aggression to mention just a few.
Psychology as a Social Science
We mentioned above that psychology is
recognised more as a social science because
it studies the behaviour of human beings in
their socio-cultural contexts. Humans are not
only influenced by their socio-cultural
contexts, they also create them. Psychology
as a social science discipline focuses on
humans as social beings. Consider the
following story of Ranjita and Shabnam.
Ranjita and Shabnam were in the same
class. Although, they were in the same class,
they were just acquainted with each other and
their lives were quite different. Ranjita came

from a farmers family. Her grandparents,

parents and elder brother worked on their farm.
They lived together in their house in the village.
Ranjita was a good athlete and was the best
long distance runner in the school. She loved
meeting people and making friends.
Unlike her, Shabnam lived with her mother
in the same village. Her father worked in an
office in a town nearby and came home during
holidays. Shabnam was a good artist and loved
staying home and taking care of her younger
brother. She was shy and avoided meeting
people.
Last year there was very heavy rain and
the river nearby overflowed into the village.
Many houses in the low lying areas were
flooded. The villagers got together and
organised help and gave shelter to people in
distress. Shabnams house was also flooded
and she came to live in Ranjitas house with
her mother and brother. Ranjita was happy
helping the family and making them feel
comfortable in her house. When the flood water
receded, Ranjitas mother and grandmother
helped Shabnams mother to set-up their house.
The two families became very close. Ranjita
and Shabnam also became very good friends.
In this case of Ranjita and Shabnam, both
are very different persons. They grew up in
different families under complex social and
cultural conditions. You can see some
regularity in the relationship of their nature,
experience and mental processes with their
social and physical environment. But at the
same time, there are variations in their
behaviours and experiences which would be
dif ficult to predict using the known
psychological principles. One can understand
why and how individuals in communities
become quite helpful and self-sacrificing in
crisis as was the case with the people in the
village of Ranjita and Shabnam. But, even in
that case, not every villager was equally helpful
and also under similar circumstances not
every community is so forthcoming; in fact,
sometimes, the opposite is true people
become
antisocial
under
similar
circumstances indulging in looting and
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

exploitation when some crisis occurs. This

shows that psychology deals with human
behaviour and experience in the context of
their society and culture. Thus, psychology is
a social science with focus on the individuals
and communities in relation to their sociocultural and physical environment.

UNDERSTANDING MIND

AND

BEHAVIOUR

You will recall that psychology was once

defined as a science of the mind. For many
decades, the mind remained a taboo in
psychology because it could not be defined in
concrete behavioural terms or its location
could not be indicated. If the term mind has
returned to psychology, we should thank
neuroscientists like Sperry and physicists like
Penrose, who have given it the respect which
it deserved and now has. There are scientists
in various disciplines including psychology,
who think that a unified theory of the mind is
a possibility, although it still is far away.
What is mind? Is it the same as brain? It
is true that mind cannot exist without brain,
but mind is a separate entity. This can be
appreciated on account of several interesting
cases that have been documented. Some
patients whose occipital lobes, which are
responsible for vision, were surgically removed
have been found to be responding correctly to
location and configuration of visual cues.
Similarly, an amateur athlete lost his arm in
a motorcycle accident but continued to feel
an arm and also continued to feel its
movements. When of fered cof fee, his
phantom arm reached out to the coffee cup
and when someone pulled it away, he
protested. There are other similar cases
documented by neuroscientists. A young man
who suffered brain injury in an accident, after
he returned home from the hospital, claimed
that his parents had been replaced by their
duplicates. They were imposters. In each of
these cases, the person had suffered from
damage of some part of the brain but his
mind had remained intact. It was earlier
believed by scientists that there is no
6

Psychology

relationship between the mind and the body

and that they were parallel to each other.
Recent studies in affective neuroscience have
clearly shown that there is a relationship
between mind and behaviour. It has been
shown that using positive visualisation
techniques and feeling positive emotions, one
can bring about significant changes in bodily
processes. Ornish has shown this in a number
of studies with his patients. In these studies a
person with blocked arteries was made to
visualise that blood was flowing through her/
his blocked arteries. After practicing this over
a period of time, significant relief was obtained
by these patients as the degree of blockage
became significantly less. Use of mental
imagery, i.e. images generated by a person in
her/his mind, have been used to cure various
kinds of phobias (irrational fears of objects and
situations). A new discipline called
Psychoneuroimmunology has emerged which
emphasises the role played by the mind in
strengthening the immune system.

Activity 1.1
Imagine and visualise yourself in the following
situations. Mention three psychological processes
involved in each situation.
1. You are writing an essay for a competition.
2. You are chatting with a friend on an
interesting topic.
3. You are playing football.
4. You are watching a soap opera on TV.
5. Your best friend has hurt you.
6. You are appearing in an examination.
7. You are expecting an important visitor.
8. You are preparing a speech to deliver in your
school.
9. You are playing chess.
10. You are trying to figure out the answer of a
difficult mathematics problem.
Discuss your answers with the teacher and
classmates.

POPULAR NOTIONS
PSYCHOLOGY

ABOUT THE

DISCIPLINE

OF

We mentioned above that everyday, almost

everyone of us acts like a psychologist. We

try to understand why someone behaved in

the manner in which s/he did and come up
with ready explanations. Not only this, most
of us have developed our own theory of
human behaviour. If we want some worker
to perform better than s/he has in the past,
we know that we will need to push her/him.
Maybe even use a stick because people are
basically lazy. Such popular theories of
human behaviour based on common sense
may or may not be true if investigated
scientifically. In fact, you will find that
common sensical explanations of human
behaviour are based on hindsight and explain
very little. For example, if a friend you love
goes away to a distant place, what will
happen to your attraction for her/him? There
are two sayings which you may recall to
answer this question. One of them is Out of
sight, out of mind. The second one is
Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Both
of them make opposite statements, so which
one is true. The explanation you choose will
depend on what happens in your life after
your friend leaves. Suppose you are able to
find a new friend, the saying Out of sight,
out of mind will be used by you or others to
explain your behaviour. If you are unable to
find a new friend, you will keep remembering
your friend fondly. In this case, the saying
Distance makes the heart grow fonder will
explain your behaviour. Notice that in both
cases the explanation follows the occurrence
of behaviour. Common sense is based on
hindsight. Psychology as a science looks for
patterns of behaviour which can be predicted
and not explained after the behaviour occurs.
Scientific knowledge generated by
psychology often runs against common sense.
One such example is a study performed by
Dweck (1975). She was concerned with
children who gave up too easily when faced
with a difficult problem or failure. She
wondered how they could be helped. Common
sense tells us to give them easy problems in
order to increase their success rate so that
their confidence goes up. Only later should
we give them difficult problems which they
will be able to solve because of their new-found

confidence. Dwecks study tested this. She

took two groups of students who were trained
for 25 days in solving math problems. The first
group was given easy problems which they were
always able to solve. The second group had a
mix of easy and difficult problems. Obviously,
in case of difficult problems, they failed.
Whenever this happened Dweck told them that
their failure was because they had not tried
hard enough and persuaded them not to give
up and keep trying. After the training period
was over, a new set of math problems were
given to the two groups. What Dweck found
goes against common belief. Those who had
always succeeded because they were given
easy problems, gave up much faster when they
faced failure than those who had experience
of both success and failure and were taught
to attribute failure to their lack of effort.
There are many other common sense
notions which you may not find to be true.
Not too long ago it was believed in some
cultures that men are more intelligent than
women or women cause more accidents than
men. Empirical studies have shown that both
of these are untrue. Common sense also tells
us that one is not able to give ones best if you
are asked to perform before a large audience.
Psychological studies have shown that if you
have practiced well, you may actually perform
better because the presence of others helps
your performance.
It is hoped that as you go through this
textbook you will discover that many of your
beliefs and understanding of human behaviour
will change. You will also gather that
psychologists are different from astrologers,
tantriks and palm readers because they
systematically examine propositions based on
data to develop principles about human
behaviour and other psychological phenomena.

Activity 1.2
Ask a cross-section of students about what they
think psychology is? Draw a comparison between
what they say and what the textbook tells you.
What conclusion can you draw?

Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

EVOLUTION

OF

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology as a modern discipline, which is

influenced to a large extent by Western
developments, has a short history. It grew out
of ancient philosophy concerned with
questions of psychological significance. We
mentioned earlier that the formal beginning
of modern psychology is traced back to 1879
when the first experimental laboratory was
established in Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm
Wundt. Wundt was interested in the study of
conscious experience and wanted to analyse
the constituents or the building blocks of the
mind. Psychologists during Wundts time
analysed the structure of the mind through
introspection and therefore were called
structuralists. Introspection was a procedure
in which individuals or subjects in
psychological experiments were asked to
describe in detail, their own mental processes
or experiences. However, introspection as a
method did not satisfy many other
psychologists. It was considered less scientific
because the introspective reports could not
be verified by outside observers. This led to
the development of new perspectives in
psychology.
An American psychologist, William James,
who had set up a psychological laboratory in
Cambridge, Massachusetts soon after the
setting up of the Leipzig laboratory, developed
what was called a functionalist approach to
the study of the human mind. William James
believed that instead of focusing on the
structure of the mind, psychology should
instead study what the mind does and how
behaviour functions in making people deal
with their environment. For example,
functionalists focused on how behaviour
enabled people to satisfy their needs.
According to William James, consciousness
as an ongoing stream of mental process
interacting with the environment formed the
core of psychology. A very influential
educational thinker of the time, John Dewey,
used functionalism to argue that human
beings seek to function effectively by adapting
to their environment.
8

Psychology

In the early 20th century, a new perspective

called Gestalt psychology emerged in
Germany as a reaction to the structuralism of
Wundt. It focused on the organisation of
perceptual experiences. Instead of looking at
the components of the mind, the Gestalt
psychologists argued that when we look at the
world our perceptual experience is more than
the sum of the components of the perception.
In other words, what we experience is more
than the inputs received from our environment.
When, for example, light from a series of
flashing bulbs falls on our retina, we actually
experience movement of light. When we see a
movie, we actually have a series of rapidly
moving images of still pictures falling on our
retina. Thus, our perceptual experience is more
than the elements. Experience is holistic; it is
a Gestalt. We will learn more about the Gestalt
psychology when we discuss about the nature
of perception in Chapter 5.
Yet another reaction to structuralism came
in the form of behaviourism. Around 1910,
John Watson rejected the ideas of mind and
consciousness as subject matters of
psychology. He was greatly influenced by the
work of physiologists like Ivan Pavlov on
classical conditioning. For Watson, mind is not
observable and introspection is subjective
because it cannot be verified by another
observer. According to him, scientific
psychology must focus on what is observable
and verifiable. He defined psychology as a study
of behaviour or responses (to stimuli) which
can be measured and studied objectively.
Behaviourism of Watson was further developed
by many influential psychologists who are
known as behaviourists. Most prominent
among them was Skinner who applied
behaviourism to a wide range of situations and
popularised the approach. We will discuss
Skinners work later in this textbook.
Although behaviourists dominated the field
of psychology for several decades after Watson,
a number of other approaches and views about
psychology and its subject matter were
developing around the same time. One person
who shook the world with his radical view of
human nature was Sigmund Freud. Freud

viewed human behaviour as a dynamic

manifestation of unconscious desires and
conflicts. He founded psychoanalysis as a
system to understand and cure psychological
disorders. While Freudian psychoanalysis
viewed human beings as motivated by
unconscious desire for gratification of pleasure
seeking (and often, sexual) desires, the
humanistic perspective in psychology took
a more positive view of human nature.
Humanists, such as Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow, emphasised the free will of human
beings and their natural striving to grow and

Box 1.1
1879

1890
1895
1900
1904

1905
1916
1920
1922
1924
1924

1928

1949

1951
1953

unfold their inner potential. They argued that

behaviourism with its emphasis on behaviour
as determined by environmental conditions
undermines human freedom and dignity and
takes a mechanistic view of human nature.
These different approaches filled the
history of modern psychology and provided
multiple perspectives to its development. Each
of these perspectives has its own focus and
draws our attention to the complexity of
psychological processes. There are strengths
as well as weaknesses in each approach. Some
of these approaches have led to further

Some Interesting Landmarks in the E

volution of Modern PPsychology
sychology
Evolution

Wilhelm Wundt establishes the first

psychology laboratory in Leipzig,
Germany.
William James publishes Principles of
Psychology.
Functionalism is formulated as a system
of psychology.
Sigmund Freud develops Psychoanalysis.
Ivan Pavlov wins the Nobel Prize for his
work on digestive system that led to
understanding of principles of
development of responses.
Intelligence test developed by Binet and
Simon.
First Psychology Department at Calcutta
University is established.
Gestalt psychology is born in Germany.
Psychology is included in Indian Science
Congress Association.
Indian Psychological Association is
founded.
John B. Watson publishes Behaviourism,
a book that led to the foundation of
behaviourism.
N.N. Sengupta and Radhakamal Mukerjee
publish the first textbook on Social
Psychology (London : Allen & Unwin).
Psychological Research Wing of the
Defence Science Organisation of India is
established.
Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers
publishes Client-Centred Therapy.
B.F. Skinner publishes Science and
Human Behaviour, strengthening

1954
1954
1955

1962
1973

1978
1981

1981
1989
1997
2002

2005

behaviourism as a major approach to

psychology.
Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow
publishes Motivation and Personality.
Bureau of Psychology is established at
Allahabad.
National Institute of Mental Health and
Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is established at
Bangalore.
Hospital for Mental Diseases in Ranchi is
established.
Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen win the
Nobel Prize for their work on built-in speciesspecific animal behaviour patter ns that
emerge without any prior experience/
learning.
Herbert Simon wins the Nobel Prize for work
on decision-making.
David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel win the Nobel
Prize for their research on vision cells in the
brain.
Roger Sperry wins the Nobel Prize for splitbrain research.
National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India
was founded.
National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) is
established at Gurgaon, Haryana.
Daniel Kahneman wins the Nobel Prize for
research on human judgment and decisionmaking under uncertainty.
Thomas Schelling wins the Nobel Prize for his
work in applying Game Theory to
understanding of conflict and cooperation in
economic behaviour.

Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

developments in the discipline. Aspects of

Gestalt approach and structuralism were
combined and led to the development of the
cognitive perspective which focuses on how
we know about the world. Cognition is the
process of knowing. It involves thinking,
understanding, perceiving, memorising,
problem solving and a host of other mental
processes by which our knowledge of the world
develops, making us able to deal with the
environment in specific ways. Some cognitive
psychologists view the human mind as an
information processing system like the
computer. Mind, according to this view is like
a computer and it receives, processes,
transforms, stores and retrieves information.
Modern cognitive psychology views human
beings as actively constructing their minds
through their exploration into the physical and
the social world. This view is sometimes called
constructivism. Piagets view of child
development which will be discussed later is
considered a constructivist theory of
development of the mind. Another Russian
psychologist Vygotsky went even further to
suggest that the human mind develops
through social and cultural processes in which
the mind is viewed as culturally constructed
through joint interaction between adults and
children. In other words, while for Piaget
children actively construct their own minds,
Vygotsky took a view that mind is a joint
cultural construction and emerges as a result
of interaction between children and adults.

DEVELOPMENT

OF

PSYCHOLOGY

IN

INDIA

The Indian philosophical tradition is rich in

its focus on mental processes and reflections
on human consciousness, self, mind-body
relations, and a variety of mental functions
such as cognition, perception, illusion,
attention and reasoning, etc. Unfortunately,
philosophical roots in the Indian tradition have
not influenced the development of modern
psychology in India. The development of the
discipline in India continues to be dominated
by western psychology, although some
attempts have been made to find points of
10

Psychology

departure both within the country and abroad.

These attempts have tried to establish the
truth value of various assertions in Indian
philosophical traditions through scientific
studies.
The modern era of Indian psychology
began in the Department of Philosophy at
Calcutta University where the first syllabus
of experimental psychology was introduced
and the first psychology laboratory was
established in 1915. Calcutta University
started the first Department of Psychology in
the year 1916 and another Department of
Applied Psychology in 1938. The beginning of
modern experimental psychology at Calcutta
University was greatly influenced by the Indian
psychologist Dr. N.N. Sengupta who was
trained in USA in the experimental tradition
of Wundt. Professor G. Bose was trained in
Freudian psychoanalysis, another area which
influenced the early development of
psychology in India. Professor Bose
established Indian Psychoanalytical
Association in 1922. Departments of
Psychology in the Universities of Mysore and
Patna were other early centres of teaching and
research in psychology. From these modest
beginnings, modern psychology has grown as
a strong discipline in India with a large number
of centres of teaching, research and
applications. There are two centers of
excellence in psychology supported by the
UGC at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar and
at the University of Allahabad. About 70
universities offer courses in psychology.
Durganand Sinha in his book Psychology
in a Third World Country: The Indian
Experience published in 1986 traces the
history of modern psychology as a social
science in India in four phases. According to
him, the first phase till independence was a
phase with emphasis on experimental,
psychoanalytic and psychological testing
research, which primarily reflected the
development of the discipline in western
countries. The second phase till the 1960s was
a phase of expansion of psychology in India
into different branches of psychology. During
this phase Indian psychologists showed a

desire to have an Indian identity by seeking

to link western psychology to the Indian
context. They did this by using western ideas
to understand the Indian situation. However,
psychology in India sought to become relevant
for Indian society in the post 1960s phase of
problem-oriented research. Psychologists
became more focused on addressing the
problems of the Indian society. Further, the
limitations of excessive dependence on
western psychology for our social context were
also realised. Leading psychologists
emphasised the significance of research, which
is of relevance to our situation. The search for
a new identity of psychology in India led to
the phase of indigenisation, which started
during the late 1970s. Besides rejecting the
western framework, Indian psychologists
stressed the need for developing an
understanding based on a framework, which
was culturally and socially relevant. This trend
was also reflected in some attempts to develop
psychological approaches based on traditional
Indian psychology, which came from our
ancient texts and scriptures. Thus, this phase
is characterised by development in indigenous
psychology, which originated from the Indian
cultural context and was relevant for society
and Indian psychology based on the Indian
traditional knowledge system. While these
developments continue, psychology in India
is making significant contributions to the field
of psychology in the world. It has become more
contextual emphasising the need for
developing psychological principles, which are
rooted in our own social and cultural context.
Alongside, we also find that new research
studies involving interfaces with neurobiological and health sciences are being carried
out.
Psychology in India is now being applied
in diverse professional areas. Not only have
psychologists been working with children
having special problems, they are employed
in hospitals as clinical psychologists, in
corporate organisations in the HRD and
advertising departments, in sports
directorates, in the development sector and
in IT industry.

BRANCHES

OF

PSYCHOLOGY

Various fields of specialisation in psychology

have emerged over the years. Some of these
are discussed in this section.
Cognitive Psychology investigates mental
processes involved in acquisition, storage,
manipulation, and transfor mation of
information received from the environment
along with its use and communication. The
major cognitive processes are attention,
perception, memory, reasoning, problem
solving, decision-making and language. You
will be studying these topics later in this
textbook. In order to study these cognitive
processes, psychologists conduct experiments
in laboratory settings. Some of them also follow
an ecological approach, i.e. an approach which
focuses on the environmental factors, to study
cognitive processes in a natural setting.
Cognitive psychologists often collaborate with
neuroscientists and computer scientists.
Biological Psychology focuses on the
relationship between behaviour and the
physical system, including the brain and the
rest of the nervous system, the immune
system, and genetics. Biological psychologists
often collaborate with neuroscientists,
zoologists,
and
anthropologists.
Neuropsychology has emerged as a field of
research where psychologists and
neuroscientists are working together.
Researchers are studying the role of
neurotransmitters or chemical substances
which are responsible for neural
communication in different areas of the brain
and therefore in associated mental functions.
They do their research on people with normal
functioning brain as well as on people with
damaged brain by following advanced
technologies like EEG, PET and fMRI, etc.
about which you will study later.
Developmental Psychology studies the
physical, social and psychological changes
that occur at different ages and stages over a
life-span, from conception to old age. The
primary concer n of developmental
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

11

psychologists is how we become what we are.

For many years the major emphasis was on
child and adolescent development. However
today an increasing number of developmental
psychologists show strong interest in adult
development and ageing. They focus on the
biological, socio-cultural and environmental
factors that influence psychological
characteristics such as intelligence, cognition,
emotion, temperament, morality, and social
relationship. Developmental psychologists
collaborate
with
anthropologists,
educationists, neurologists, social workers,
counsellors and almost every branch of
knowledge where there is a concern for growth
and development of a human being.
Social Psychology explores how people are
affected by their social environments, how
people think about and influence others.
Social psychologists are interested in such
topics as attitudes, conformity and obedience
to authority, interpersonal attraction, helpful
behaviour, prejudice, aggression, social
motivation, inter-group relations and so on.
Cross-cultural and Cultural Psychology
examines the role of culture in understanding
behaviour, thought, and emotion. It assumes
that human behaviour is not only a reflection
of human-biological potential but also a
product of culture. Therefore behaviour should
be studied in its socio-cultural context. As you
will be studying in different chapters of this
book, culture influences human behaviour in
many ways and in varying degrees.
Environmental Psychology studies the
interaction of physical factors such as
temperature, humidity, pollution, and natural
disasters on human behaviour. The influence
of physical arrangement of the workplace on
health, the emotional state, and interpersonal
relations are also investigated. Current topics
of research in this field are the extent to which,
disposal of waste, population explosion,
conservation of energy, efficient use of
community resources are associated with and
are functions of human behaviour.
12

Psychology

Health Psychology focuses on the role of

psychological factors (for example, stress,
anxiety) in the development, prevention and
treatment of illness. Areas of interest for a
health psychologist are stress and coping, the
relationship between psychological factors and
health, patient-doctor relationship and ways
of promoting health enhancing factors.
Clinical and Counselling Psychology deals
with causes, treatment and prevention of
different types of psychological disorders such
as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and
chronic substance abuse. A related area is
counselling, which aims to improve everyday
functioning by helping people solve problems
in daily living and cope more effectively with
challenging situations. The work of clinical
psychologists does not differ from that of
counselling psychologists although a
counselling psychologist sometimes deals with
people who have less serious problems. In
many instances, counselling psychologists
work with students, advising them about
personal problems and career planning. Like
clinical psychologists, psychiatrists also study
the causes, treatment, and prevention of
psychological disorders. How are clinical
psychologists and psychiatrists different? A
clinical psychologist has a degree in
psychology, which includes intensive training
in treating people with psychological disorders.
In contrast, a psychiatrist has a medical degree
with years of specialised training in the
treatment of psychological disorders. One
important distinction is that psychiatrists can
prescribe medications and give electroshock
treatments whereas clinical psychologist
cannot.
Industrial/Organisational Psychology deals
with workplace behaviour, focusing on both the
workers and the organisations that employ
them. Industrial/organisational psychologists
are concerned with training employees,
improving work conditions, and developing
criteria for selecting employees. For example,
an organisational psychologist might
recommend that a company may adopt a new
management structure that would increase

communication between managers and staff.

The background of industrial and
organisational psychologists often includes
training in cognitive and social psychology.
Educational Psychology studies how people
of all ages learn. Educational psychologists
primarily help develop instructional methods
and materials used to train people in both
educational and work settings. They are also
concerned with research on issues of relevance
for education, counselling and learning
problems. A related field, school psychology,
focuses on designing programmes that
promote intellectual, social, and emotional
development of children, including those with
special needs. They try to apply knowledge of
psychology in a school setting.
Sports Psychology applies psychological
principles to improve sports performance by
enhancing their motivation. Sports psychology
is a relatively new field but is gaining
acceptance worldwide.
Other Emerging Branches of Psychology :
The interdisciplinary focus on research and
application of psychology has led to the
emergence of varied areas like aviation
psychology, space psychology, military

Activity 1.3
Think about the areas of psychology that you have
read in the text. Go through the list given below
and rank them from 1 (most interesting) to 11 (least
interesting).
Cognitive psychology
Biological psychology
Developmental psychology
Social psychology
Cross-cultural and cultural psychology
Environmental psychology
Health psychology
Clinical and counselling psychology
Industrial/Organisational psychology
Educational psychology
Sports psychology
After going through this textbook and completing
the course you may like to return to this activity
and mark the changes in your ranking.

psychology, forensic psychology, rural

psychology, engineering psychology,
managerial psychology, community
psychology, psychology of women, and
political psychology, to name a few. Try the
Activity 1.3 to reflect upon your interest areas
in psychology.

THEMES

OF

RESEARCH

AND

APPLICATIONS

In the previous section, you got some idea of

the various branches of psychology. If you
were to ask a simple question about what
psychologists do?, the usual answer will be
that they do several things while working in a
variety of settings. However, if you try to
analyse their work, you will notice that they
basically engage in two kinds of activities. One
is research in psychology; the other is
application of psychology.
What are some of the themes which
provide direction to research and application
of psychology? There are several such themes.
We will focus on some of them.
Theme 1 : Psychology like other sciences
attempts to develop principles of behaviour and
mental processes.
In research, the main concern is with the
understanding and explanation of behaviour
and mental events and processes.
Psychologists, who choose to engage in
research, function more like other scientists.
Like them, they draw conclusions which are
supported by data. They design and conduct
experiments or studies under controlled
conditions on a wide range of psychological
phenomena. The purpose is to develop general
principles about behaviour and mental
processes. The conclusions drawn on the basis
of such studies apply to everybody and are,
therefore, universal. Experimental,
comparative, physiological, developmental,
social, differential and abnormal psychology
are generally regarded as domains
representing basic psychology.
The themes of research in these fields differ
from each other. For example, experimental
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

13

psychologists study the processes of

perception, learning, memory, thinking, and
motivation, etc., using experiment as their
method of enquiry, whereas physiological
psychologists attempt to examine
physiological bases of these behaviours.
Developmental psychologists study qualitative
and quantitative changes in behaviour from
the beginning of human life to its end, whereas
social psychologists focus on the study of
experience and behaviour of individuals as
they take place in social contexts.
Theme 2 : Human behaviour is a function of
the attributes of persons and environment.
Kurt Lewin first proposed the famous
equation B = f(P,E) which suggests that
behaviour is the product of a person and her/
his environment. What this equation simply
tells us is that the variations we find in human
behaviour are largely due to the fact that
persons differ with respect to their various
attributes because of their genetic
endowments and diverse experiences and so
do the environments they are placed in. Here
the environment is conceptualised as it is
perceived or made sense of by the person.
Psychologists have for a long time considered
that no two individuals are the same, if one
considers their psychological attributes. They
vary with respect to their intelligence,
interests, values, aptitudes and various other
personality characteristics. In fact,
psychological tests came to be constructed to
measure such differences. A discipline
called, differential psychology, which focused
on individual differences emerged and
flourished in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth century. Most of it still remains in
the form of personality psychology.
Psychologists believe that although, core
psychological processes are universal, they are
susceptible to individual dispositions. Besides
individual differences, psychologists also
believe that there are variations in behaviour
which occur due to environmental factors.
This is a view which psychologists have taken
from anthropologists, evolutionary theorists
14

Psychology

and biologists. Psychologists look for

explanations of various psychological
phenomena based on individual-environment
interactions. Although it is difficult,
psychologists do seek out the relative
importance of heredity and environment in
explaining human behaviour.
Theme 3 : Human behaviour is caused.
Most psychologists believe that all human
behaviour can be explained in terms of causes
which are internal (to the organism) or external
having location in the outside environment.
Causal explanations are central to all sciences
because without understanding them no
prediction will be possible. Although,
psychologists look for causal explanations of
behaviour, they also realise that simple linear
explanations, such as X Causing Y do not hold
true. There is no one cause of behaviour.
Human behaviour has multiple causes.
Psychologists, therefore, look for causal
models where a set of interdependent variables
are used to explain a behaviour. When it is
said that behaviour has multiple causes, it
means that it is difficult to pinpoint one cause
of a behaviour because it may itself be caused
by another variable, which in turn may be
caused by some other.
Theme 4 : Understanding of human behaviour
is culturally constructed.
This is a theme which has recently
surfaced. There are psychologists who believe
that most psychological theories and models
are Euro-American in nature and therefore,
do not help us in understanding behaviours
in other cultural settings. Psychologists from
Asia, Africa and Latin America have been
critical of Euro-American approaches which
are propagated as universal. A similar critique
is made by feminists who argue that
psychology offers a male perspective and
ignores the perspective of women. They argue
in favour of a dialectical approach which will
accommodate both male and female
perspectives in understanding human
behaviour.

Theme 5 : Human behaviour can be controlled

and modified through the application of
psychological principles.
Why do scientists like to know how certain
events can be controlled, be they physical or
psychological? Their concern arises from their
desire to develop techniques or methods that
will improve the quality of human life.
Psychologists also seek the same while
applying knowledge generated by them.
This often requires removal of certain
dif ficulties or adverse conditions that
individuals experience in different phases of
their life. Consequently, psychologists make
certain interventions into the lives of needy
people. This applied role of psychologists has,
on the one hand, brought the subject closer
to the life of people in general than other social
science subjects and in knowing the limits of
the applicability of its principles. On the other
hand, this role has also been very helpful in
popularising psychology as a subject in itself.
Thus, several independent branches of
psychology have emerged that try to use
psychological theories, principles and facts to
diagnose and resolve problems related to
industrial and organisational settings, clinical
services, education, environment, health,
community development and so on. Industrial
psychology, organisational psychology, clinical
psychology, educational psychology,
engineering psychology and sports psychology
represent some of the areas in which
psychologists are engaged in delivering
services to individuals, groups or institutions.
Basic vs Applied Psychology
It may be noted at this point that various areas
put under the rubrics of basic and applied
psychology are identified only on the basis of
their emphasis on the study of certain subject
matters and broader concerns. There is no
sharp cleavage between research and
application of psychology. For example, basic
psychology provides us with theories and
principles that form the basis of application
of psychology and applied psychology provides
us with different contexts in which the theories

and principles derived from research can be

meaningfully applied. On the other hand,
research is an integral part of even those fields
of psychology that are mainly characterised
by or subsumed under the category of
application. Due to ever increasing demands
of psychology in different settings, many fields
that were regarded as primarily researchoriented in previous decades, have also
gradually turned into application-oriented.
Newly emerging disciplines like applied
experimental psychology, applied social
psychology, and applied developmental
psychology indicate that in fact all psychology
has the potential of application and is basically
applied in nature.
Thus, there is seemingly no fundamental
difference between research and application
of psychology. These activities are highly
interrelated and mutually reinforcing. Their
mutual interactions and pervasive influences
on each other have become so specific that
several offshoots have emerged in recent years
with very specific emphasis on their subject
matters. Thus, ecological psychology,
environmental psychology, cross-cultural
psychology, biological psychology, space
psychology, and cognitive psychology, to
mention a few, have come up as new and
frontier areas of research and application that
previously formed part of other fields of
psychology. These newer developments
require highly specialised research skills and
training on the part of researchers than ever
before.

PSYCHOLOGY

AND

OTHER DISCIPLINES

Any discipline, which deals with people, would

definitely recognise the relevance of the
knowledge of psychology. Similarly
psychologists also acknowledge the relevance
of other disciplines in understanding human
behaviour. This trend has led to the emergence
of interdisciplinary approach in the field of
psychology. Researchers and scholars in
science, social science and humanities have
felt the significance of psychology as a
discipline. Figure 1.1 clearly shows the
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

15

relationship of psychology with other

disciplines. In studying brain and behaviour,
psychology shares its knowledge with
neurology, physiology, biology, medicine and
computer science. In studying human
behaviour (its meaning, growth and
development) in a socio-cultural context,
psychology shares its knowledge with
anthropology, sociology, social work, political
science and economics. In studying mental
activities involved in creation of literary texts,
music and drama, psychology shares its
knowledge with literature, art and music.
Some of the major disciplines linked to the
field of psychology are discussed below:
Philosophy : Until the end of the 19th century,
certain concerns that are now part of
contemporary psychology like, what is the
nature of the mind or how do humans come
to know their motivations and emotions were
the concerns of philosophers. In the later part
of the 19th century, Wundt and other
psychologists adopted an experimental
approach to these questions and
contemporary psychology emerged. Despite
the emergence of psychology as a science, it
greatly draws from philosophy, particularly
with respect to methods of knowing, and
various domains of human nature.
Medicine : Doctors have realised that the
maxim, healthy body requires a healthy mind,
is actually true. A large number of hospitals
now employ psychologists. The role of
psychologists in preventing people from
engaging in health hazardous behaviours and
in adhering to the prescribed doctors regimen
are some of the important areas where the
two disciplines have come together. While
treating patients suffering from cancer, AIDS,
and the physically challenged, or handling
patients in the Intensive Care Unit, and
patients during post operative care doctors
have also felt the need for psychological
counselling. A successful doctor looks at the
psychological as well as physical well-being
of the patients.
16

Psychology

Economics, Political Science and

Sociology : As sister social science disciplines,
these three have drawn considerably from
psychology and have enriched it as well.
Psychology has contributed a great deal to the
study of micro-level economic behaviour,
particularly in understanding consumer
behaviour, savings behaviour and in decisionmaking. American economists have used data
on consumer sentiments to predict economic
growth. Three scholars who have worked on
such problems have received the Nobel Prize
in Economics, namely H. Simon, D. Kahneman
and T. Schelling. Like economics, political
science too draws considerably from
psychology, particularly, in understanding
issues related to exercise of power and
authority, nature of political conflicts and their
resolutions, and voting behaviour. Sociology
and psychology come together to explain and
understand the behaviour of individuals
within different socio-cultural contexts. Issues
related to socialisation, group and collective
behaviour, and intergroup conflicts gain from
both these disciplines.
Computer Science : From the very beginning,
the effort of computer science has been in
mimicking the human mind. One can see it in
terms of how a computer is structured, its
memory organised, sequential and
simultaneous (read parallel) processing of
information. Computer scientists and
engineers are seeking to make computers not
only more and more intelligent but also
machines which can sense and feel.
Developments in both these disciplines have
brought about significant advancement in the
field of cognitive sciences.
Law and Criminology : A skilled lawyer and
a criminologist requires knowledge of
psychology in answering such questions as:
How well a witness remembers an accident, a
street fight, or a murder? How well can s/he
report such facts when taking the witness
stand in the court? What factors influence the
decision which is taken by the jury? What are
the dependable signs of guilt and falsehood?

Political Science

Economics

Education

Philosophy

Music and Fine Arts

Psychology

Computer Science

Law/Criminology

Medicine/Psychiatry

Mass Communication

Architecture and Engineering

Sociology

Fig.1.1 : Psychology and Other Disciplines

What factors are held important in holding a

culprit responsible for her/his action? What
degree of punishment is considered just for a

criminal act? Psychologists seek to answer

these questions. Currently, a number of
psychologists are involved in research on such
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

17

issues, the answers to which would help the

legal system of the country in the future.
Mass Communication : The print and the
electronic media have entered in our lives in a
very big way. They have a major influence on
our thinking, attitudes and our emotions. If
they have brought us closer together, they have
also reduced cultural diversities. The impact
of the media on the formation of attitudes of
children and their behaviour is a domain
where both these disciplines come together.
Psychology also helps in developing strategies
for better and effective communication. A
journalist in reporting news must know the
readers interests in the story. Since most
stories deal with human events, knowledge of
their motives and emotions is very important.
A story will be more penetrating if based upon
a background of psychological knowledge and
insight.
Music and Fine Arts : Music and psychology
have converged in many areas. Scientists have
made use of music in raising work
performance. Music and emotions is another
area in which a number of studies have been
carried out. Musicians in India have recently
started experimenting with what they call
Music Therapy. In this they use different
Ragas for curing certain physical ailments.
The efficacy of music therapy still remains to
be proven.
Architecture and Engineering : At first glance
the relationship between psychology and
architecture and engineering would appear
improbable. But such is actually not the case.
Ask any architect, s/he must satisfy her/his
clients by providing mental and physical space
through her design and satisfy aesthetically.
Engineers must also take into account human
habits in their plans for safety, for example,
on streets and highways. Psychological
knowledge helps in a big way in designing of
all mechanical devices and displays.
To sum up, psychology is located at the
intersection of many fields of knowledge
pertaining to human functioning.
18

Psychology

PSYCHOLOGISTS

AT

WORK

Psychologists today work in a variety of

settings where they can apply psychological
principles for teaching and training people to
cope effectively with the problems of their lives.
Often referred to as human service areas they
include clinical counselling, community,
school and organisational psychology.
Clinical psychologists specialise in
helping clients with behavioural problems by
providing therapy for various mental
disorders and in cases of anxiety or fear, or
with stresses at home or at work. They work
either as private practitioners or at hospitals,
mental institutions, or with social agencies.
They may be involved in conducting
interviews and administering psychological
tests to diagnose the clients problems, and
use psychological methods for their treatment
and rehabilitation. Job opportunities in
clinical psychology attract quite a few to this
field of psychology.
Counselling psychologists work with
persons who suffer from motivational and
emotional problems. The problems of their
clients are less serious than those of the
clinical psychologists. A counselling
psychologist may be involved in vocational
rehabilitation programmes, or helping persons
in making professional choices or in adjusting
to new and difficult situations of life.
Counselling psychologists work for public
agencies such as mental health centres,
hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.
Community psychologists generally
focus on problems related to community
mental health. They work for mental health
agencies, private organisations and state
governments. They help the community and
its institutions in addressing physical and
mental health problems. In rural areas they
may work to establish a mental health centre.
In urban areas they may design a drug
rehabilitation programme. Many community
psychologists also work with special
populations such as the elderly or the
physically or mentally challenged. Besides the
redir ection and evaluation of various

programmes and plans, community based

rehabilitation (CBR) is of major interest to
community psychologists.
School psychologists work in
educational systems, and their roles vary
according to the levels of their training. For
example, some school psychologists only
administer tests, whereas others also
interpret test results to help students with
their pr oblems. They also help in the
formulation of school policies. They facilitate
communication between parents, teachers
and administrators, and also provide teachers
and parents with information about the
academic progress of a student.
Organisational psychologists render
valuable help in dealing with problems that
the executives and employees of an
organisation tend to face in their respective
roles. They provide organisations with
consultancy services and organise skill
training programmes in order to enhance their
ef ficiency and ef fectiveness. Some
organisational psychologists specialise in
Human Resource Development (HRD), while
others in Organisational Development and
Change Management programmes.

PSYCHOLOGY

IN

EVERYDAY LIFE

The discussion above may have clarified that

psychology is not only a subject that satisfies
some of the curiosities of our mind about
human nature, but it is also a subject that
can offer solutions to a variety of problems.
These may range from purely personal (for
example, a daughter having to face an alcoholic
father or a mother dealing with a problem child)
to those that may be rooted within the family
set up (for example, lack of communication and
interaction among family members) or in a
larger group or community setting (for example,
terrorist groups or socially isolated
communities) or may have national or
international dimensions. Problems related to
education, health, environment, social justice,
women development, intergroup relations, etc.
are pervasive. While the solution of these
problems may involve political, economic and

social reforms, interventions at the individual

levels are also needed in order to change. Many
of these problems are largely of psychological
nature and they result from our unhealthy
thinking, negative attitude towards people and
self and undesirable patterns of behaviour. A
psychological analysis of these problems helps
both in having a deeper understanding of these
problems and also in finding their effective
solutions.
The potential of psychology in solving the
problems of life is being realised more and
more. Media has played a vital role in this
respect. You may have seen on television
counsellors and therapists suggesting
solutions to a variety of problems related to
children, adolescents, adults and the elderly
people. You may also find them analysing vital
social problems relating to social change and
development,
population,
poverty,
interpersonal or intergroup violence, and
environmental
degradation.
Many
psychologists now play an active role in
designing and executing intervention
programmes in order to provide people with a
better quality of life. Hence, it is no surprise
that we find psychologists working in diverse
settings such as schools, hospitals, industries,
prisons, business organisations, military
establishments, and in private practice as
consultants helping people solve problems in
their respective settings.
Besides helping you in rendering social
service to others, the knowledge of psychology
is also personally relevant to you in your dayto-day life. The principles and methods of
psychology that you will learn in this course
should be made use of in analysing and
understanding yourself in relation to others.
It is not that we do not think about ourselves.
But very often, some of us think very highly
of ourselves and any feedback that contradicts
our opinion about ourselves is rejected
because we engage in what is called a
defensive behaviour. In some other cases,
persons come to acquire a habit of running
down themselves. Both conditions do not
permit us to grow. We need to have a positive
and balanced understanding of ourselves. You
Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

19

may use psychological principles in a positive

manner to develop good habits of study for
improving your learning and memory, and for
solving your personal and interpersonal
problems by using appropriate decisionmaking strategies. You will also find it of use
to reduce or alleviate the stress of
examination. Thus, the knowledge of
psychology is quite useful in our everyday life,
and is rewarding from personal as well as
social points of view.

Key Terms
Behaviour, Behaviourism, Cognition, Cognitive
approach, Consciousness, Constructivism,
Developmental psychology, Functionalism,
Gestalt, Gestalt psychology, Humanistic
approach,
Introspection,
Mind,
Neuropsychology, Physiological psychology,
Psychoanalysis, Sociology, Stimulus,
Structuralism

Summary

Psychology is a modern discipline aimed at understanding the complexities of mental

processes, experiences and behaviour of individuals in different contexts. It is treated as a
natural as well as a social science.
The major schools of psychological thought are structuralism, functionalism, behaviourism,
Gestalt school, psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology and cognitive psychology.
Contemporary psychology is multivocal as it is characterised by many approaches or
diverse views, which explain behaviour at different levels. These approaches are not
mutually exclusive. Each provides valuable insights into the complexities of human
functioning. The cognitive approach uses thought processes as central to psychological
functions. The humanistic approach views human functioning as characterised by a desire
to grow, be productive and fulfill human potential.
Today psychologists work in many specialised fields which have their own theories and
methods. They make efforts to develop theories and solve problems in specific domains.
Some of the major fields of psychology are: cognitive psychology, biological psychology,
health psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, educational and school
psychology, clinical and counselling psychology, environmental psychology, industrial/
organisational psychology, sports psychology.
More recently a need is felt to have multi/interdisciplinary initiatives to arrive at a better
understanding of reality. This has led to a collaboration across disciplines. Interests of
psychology overlap with social sciences (e.g., economics, political science, sociology),
biosciences (e.g., neurology, physiology, medicine), mass communication, and music and
fine arts. Such efforts have led to fruitful research and application.
Psychology is a discipline not merely contributing to the development of theoretical
knowledge about human behaviour, but contributing to the solution of problems at different
levels. Psychologists are employed to help in diverse activities in a variety of settings
including schools, hospitals, industries, training institutes, military and government
establishments. Many of them are doing private practice and are consultants.

Review Questions

20

1.

What is behaviour? Give examples of overt and covert behaviour.

2.

How can you distinguish scientific psychology from the popular notions about the
discipline of psychology?

3.

Give a brief account of the evolution of psychology.

Psychology

4.

What are the problems for which collaboration of psychologists with other disciplines
can be fruitful? Take any two problems to explain.

5.

Differentiate between (a) a psychologist and a psychiatrist (b) a counsellor and a clinical
psychologist.

6.

Describe some of the areas of everyday life where understanding of psychology can be
put to practice.

7.

How can knowledge of the field of environmental psychology be used to promote

environment friendly behaviour?

8.

In terms of helping solve an important social problem such as crime, which branch of
psychology do you think is most suitable. Identify the field and discuss the concerns of
the psychologists working in this field.

Project Ideas
1.

2.

This chapter tells you about several professionals in the field of psychology. Contact a
psychologist who fits into one of the categories and interview the person. Have a list of
questions prepared beforehand. Possible questions could be: (i) What kind of education is
necessary for your particular job? (ii) Which college/university would you recommend for
the study of this discipline? (iii) Are there many jobs available today in your area of work?
(iv) What would a typical day at work be like for you or is there no such thing as
typical? (v) What motivated you to enter this line of work?
Write a report of your interview and include your specific reactions.
Go to the library or some bookstore or surf the internet and obtain names of some books
(fiction/non-fiction or films), which have reference to applications of psychology.
Prepare a report giving a brief synopsis.

Chapter 1 What is Psychology?

21