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Introduction. The word Psychology has its origin from two Greek words ‘Psyche’ and ‘Logos’, ‘psyche’ means ‘soul’ and ‘logos’ means ‘study’. Thus literally, Psychology means ‘the study of soul’ or ‘science of soul’. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior, cognition, and emotion . ... Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals' daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. Part of the nurse's role in psychosocial care is being able to provide the resources and education particular to the individual patients needs. Nurses as well as other practitioners need to create an environment in which the patient feels comfortable and safe to relate and communicate.

Meaning of behavior. Any manifestation of life activity and behavior is a collective name for these activities. The term behavior includes the following: Motor or conative activities ( walking, swimming, dancing) Cognitive activities ( thinking, reasoning, imagining Affective activities ( feeling happy, sad , angry).

Nature of psychology. Psychology is factual The law of psychology are universal The law of psychology are verifiable Psychology discovers the cause effect relationship in human behavior Psychology predicts human behavior.

History and origin of science in psychology. Psychology came into being as a scientific discipline by the establishment of first Institute of Psychology in 1879 at Leipzig in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). It is here the first professional psychologists acquired the skills of experimental work to study the mind..

A brief analysis of these approaches is as follows:.

Functionalism:. Functionalism was initiated by William James (1842-1910) the father of American psychology. The other important psychologists belonged to this school were John Dewey, James Angell, etc. Functionalists advocated the functioning of mind as an important aspect. According to them the mind will always help the person to adjust to his environment. They were influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution and biology..

Behaviorism:. This school of thought was started by JB Watson (1878-1958). The other notable psychologists include Thorndike, Pavlov, Skinner, Tolman , Hull, etc. Watson defined psychology as a science of behaviour of the organism. He focused his attention on the study of observable behaviour and rejected the invisible inner forces of mind. Watson rejected the method of Introspection as unreliable and unscientific and advocated the method of observation and checking. Behaviorism emphasised the conditioned reflexes as elements of behaviour ..

Psychoanalysis:. Psychology was mainly concentrating on the normal human psyche, until the arrival of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) who founded the school of Psychoanalysis. This theory emerged from the clinical background of mental patients. Freud developed his theory based on unconscious motivation. It includes different concepts like conscious, sub-conscious, unconscious behaviour , structure of psyche, repression,, psycho-sexual development of child, libido, etc. which help to analyse the total human behaviour , particularly from the point of view of understanding abnormal behaviour ..

Definition. Psychology is the science of human and animal behavior, it includes the application of behavioral science to human problems. Psychology is the science of human behavior - Walter.

Psychology is the science which aims to give us better understanding and control of the behavior of organism a whole -William McDoughall.

Scope of psychology. 1. Physiological Psychology: In the most fundamental sense, human beings are biological organisms. Physiological functions and the structure of our body work together to influence our behaviour . Biopsychology is the branch that specializes in the area. Biopsychologists may examine the ways in which specific sites in the brain which are related to disorders such as Parkinson’s disease or they may try to determine how our sensations are related to our behaviour ..

2. Developmental Psychology:. Here the studies are with respect to how people grow and change throughout their life from prenatal stages, through childhood, adulthood and old age. Developmental psychologists work in a variety of settings like colleges, schools, healthcare centres , business centres , government and non-profit organizations, etc. They are also very much involved in studies of the disturbed children and advising parents about helping such children..

3. Personality Psychology:. This branch helps to explain both consistency and change in a person’s behaviour over time, from birth till the end of life through the influence of parents, siblings, playmates, school, society and culture. It also studies the individual traits that differentiate the behaviour of one person from that of another person..

4. Health Psychology:. This explores the relations between the psychological factors and physical ailments and disease. Health psychologists focus on health maintenance and promotion of behaviour related to good health such as exercise, health habits and discouraging unhealthy behaviours like smoking, drug abuse and alcoholism. Health psychologists work in healthcare setting and also in colleges and universities where they conduct research. They analyse and attempt to improve the healthcare system and formulate health policies.

. 5. Clinical Psychology:. It deals with the assessment and intervention of abnormal behaviour . As some observe and believe that psychological disorders arise from a person’s unresolved conflicts and unconscious motives, others maintain that some of these patterns are merely learned responses, which can be unlearned with training, still others are contend with the knowledge of thinking that there are biological basis to certain psychological disorders, especially the more serious ones. Clinical psychologists are employed in hospitals, clinics and private practice. They often work closely with other specialists in the field of mental health..

6. Counselling Psychology:. This focuses primarily on educational, social and career adjustment problems. Counselling psychologists advise students on effective study habits and the kinds of job they might be best suited for, and provide help concerned with mild problems of social nature and strengthen healthy lifestyle, economical and emotional adjustments. They make use of tests to measure aptitudes, interests and personality characteristics. They also do marriage and family counselling , provide strategies to improve family relations..

7. Educational Psychology:. Educational psychologists are concerned with all the concepts of education. This includes the study of motivation, intelligence, personality, use of rewards and punishments, size of the class, expectations, the personality traits and the effectiveness of the teacher, the student-teacher relationship, the attitudes, etc. It is also concerned with designing tests to evaluate student performance. They also help in designing the curriculum to make learning more interesting and enjoyable to children. Educational psychology is used in elementary and secondary schools, planning and supervising special education, training teachers, counselling students having problems, assessing students with learning difficulties such as poor writing and reading skills and lack of concentration..

8. Social Psychology:. This studies the effect of society on the thoughts, feelings and actions of people. Our behaviour is not only the result of just our personality and predisposition. Social and environmental factors affect the way we think, say and do. Social psychologists conduct experiments to determine the effects of various groups, group pressures and influence on behaviour . Social psychologists work largely in colleges and universities and also other organizations..

10. Experimental Psychology:. It is the branch that studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, thinking, etc. by using scientific methods. The outcome of the experimental psychology is cognitive psychology which focuses on studying higher mental processes including thinking, knowing, reasoning, judging and decision-making. Experimental psychologists often do research in lab by frequently using animals as their experimental subjects..

11. Environmental Psychology:. It focuses on the relationships between people and their physical and social surroundings. For example, the density of population and its relationship with crime, the noise pollution and its harmful effects and the influence of overcrowding upon lifestyle, etc.

12. Psychology of Women:. This concentrates on psychological factors of women’s behaviour and development. It focuses on a broad range of issues such as discrimination against women, the possibility of structural differences in the brain of men and women, the effect of hormones on behaviour , and the cause of violence against women, fear of success, outsmarting nature of women with respect to men in various accomplishments..

13. Sports and Exercise Psychology:. It studies the role of motivation in sport, social aspects of sport and physiological issues like importance of training on muscle development, the coordination between eye and hand, the muscular coordination in track and field, swimming and gymnastics..

14. Cognitive Psychology. It has its roots in the cognitive outlook of the Gestalt principles. It studies thinking, memory, language, development, perception, imagery and other mental processes in order to peep into the higher human mental functions like insight, creativity and problem-solving. The names of psychologists like Edward Tolman and Jean Piaget are associated with the propagation of the ideas of this school of thought.

9. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: The private and public organizations apply psychology to management and employee training, supervision of personnel, improve communication within the organization, counselling employees and reduce industrial disputes. Thus we can say that in organizational and industrial sectors not only the psychological effects of working attitude of the employees are considered but also the physical aspects are given importance to make workers feel healthy..