Introducing Psychology

A Graphic Guide

Nigel Benson

• Publisher: Icon Books
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781848317567
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

What is psychology? When did it begin? Where did it come from? How does psychology compare with related subjects such as psychiatry and psychotherapy? To what extent is it scientific? Introducing Psychology answers all these questions and more, explaining what the subject has been in the past and what it is now. The main "schools" of thought and the sections within psychology are described, including Introspection, Biopsychology, Psychoanalysis, Behaviourism, Comparative (Animal) Psychology, Cognitive Approaches (including the Gestalt movement), Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology and Humanism. The key figures covered include: Freud, Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura, Piaget, Bowlby, Maslow and Rogers, as well as many lesser-known but important psychologists.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

“Psychology” comes from two words: psyche and logos. The word psyche (pronounced “sigh-key”) is from the Greek word Ψυχη – meaning “breath of life”, i.e. “soul or spirit”, loosely translated as MIND.

And logos means “knowledge”, “study”: like all “ologies”!
In Greek mythology, Psyche was represented by a butterfly. She became the wife of Eros, the god of love (renamed Cupid by the Romans).

The Greek letter Ψ (spelled “psi”, and pronounced “sigh”) is now used as the international symbol for Psychology.

Hence, Psychology was originally defined as: the study of the mind.

But, this isn’t how most Psychologists define Psychology today.

Towards a Definition

Most Psychologists try hard to make a clear distinction between what is proper Psychology, and what isn’t.

So, how do Psychologists define “Psychology”? Well, there are difficulties in finding one universally accepted definition. Although most Psychologists agree that it is important to be scientific – to avoid muddled thinking – it’s not always clear exactly what this means.

Another difficulty is the practical problem – some say “impossibility”! – of studying the “mind” directly. Indeed, even trying to define “mind” is very difficult. Some Psychologists have avoided this completely, especially the Behaviourists, like B. F. Skinner and J. B. Watson.

“We do not need to try to discover what personalities, states of mind, feelings… really are in order to get on with a scientific analysis of behaviour.”
“Never use the terms consciousness, mental states, mind…”

In practice, therefore, most Psychologists concentrate on what is observable and measurable in a person’s behaviour, including the biological processes in the body. At the same time, despite the extreme views of certain Behaviourists, the “mind” is still generally considered to be central to the subject.

Thus, a commonly accepted “working definition” is:

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour of humans and animals.

Doesn’t that definition also apply to Sociology?
It is similar, but Sociology is generally about the study of large groups of people – in societies or sub-cultures.

Psychology, on the other hand, is mainly about individuals or small groups of people, as in Social Psychology.

There are also differences in the methods used. In Psychology, there is emphasis on experiments, but in Sociology that method is not usually possible – for practical and ethical reasons – so observations and surveys are more commonly used.

What Does Psychology Include?

Unlike the Natural Sciences, Psychology doesn’t have one unifying theory or particular approach…

We’re working on a Unified Field.
We have Molecular Bonding.
We have Common Descent.
We don’t have any particular approach.
We have several perspectives…

We shall look at the 6 main approaches or perspectives within Psychology:

PSYCHODYNAMIC; BEHAVIOURISM; COGNITIVE (including Gestalt); HUMANISTIC; BIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL; SOCIAL-CULTURAL

The Sections Within Psychology

In addition to the different perspectives, the subject can be divided into various areas of study in university departments. A typical division would look like this:

(whispering…) Excuse me, where is the Psychodynamic Department, please?
Down in the basement… use the rear entrance.

To qualify as a Psychologist requires a recognized qualification at degree level (e.g. BSc Hons) and membership of a relevant Professional Association, for example one of the following:
the BPS – British Psychological Society (founded 1901),
the APA – American Psychological Association (founded 1893),
the APS – American Psychological Society (founded 1988).

Psychology and Psychiatry?

There is a common confusion between the two. Put simply, the difference is this:

A Psychologist studies all human behavior – normal and abnormal.
A Psychiatrist is a DOCTOR who specializes in abnormal behavior – “mental disorders”.

Psychiatrists have a Medical Degree, plus a Psychiatric Qualification, and belong to a Medical Association. (Only they have the authority to prescribe drugs.) But some Psychologists also specialize, with extra training, in helping people with mental disorders – they are Clinical Psychologists.

To qualify as a Clinical Psychologist requires a good Psychology Degree (at least a 2.1) plus relevant work experience (e.g. nursing, social or care work) and a recognized Clinical qualification (e.g. a BPS approved Diploma or Masters Degree).

Some Clinical Psychologists base their therapies, like traditional Psychiatrists, on Psychoanalysis (e.g. the Tavistock Clinic), while others use Behaviour Therapy and Modification (e.g. the Maudsley Clinic). (These therapies are described later.)

Is Psychology a Science?

Since the definition includes “scientific study”, this begs the question: “What is Science?”. To most people, “science” conjures up images of laboratories with test-tubes, complex measuring equipment, etc. This is appropriate because it emphasizes the importance of EXPERIMENTS, which can only be properly carried out in controlled conditions.

Experiments are conducted to try to find the CAUSES of EFFECTS, in all scientific subjects.

Psychologists also like to carry out experiments. How/ever, sometimes this can’t be done for practical and ethical reasons.
In general, Psychologists can’t research on human beings in the same way that, for example, a Chemist researches chemicals.

So, Psychologists have to use various research METHODS other than just experiments.

METHODOLOGY

The study of methods of research is called “methodology”. There are two aspects to this:
(a) the more PRACTICAL considerations about which research methods should be used, and
(b) the more PHILOSOPHICAL questions about the nature of SCIENCE itself. Let’s start with practical methodology.

In practice, there are 5 methods of research that a Psychologist can choose from.
The last one may be seen as more a form of measurement rather than a method.

Within each method, various TECHNIQUES can be used, e.g. audio and/or video recording, questionnaires, intervie...