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Human's psychology. Psychology as a Science Definition of Psychology from Different Psychologists

Last updated: 08/19/2012

Question: What is psychology?

One of the most common questions asked by new psychology students is "What is psychology?" Misconceptions formed by the popular media, as well as the various career paths of those with degrees in psychology, have created confusion.

Psychology is both an applied and a scientific field that studies consciousness and human behavior. Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain how we think, act, and feel. Practical applications of psychology include the treatment of mental illness, productivity enhancement, self-help, ergonomics, and many other areas that affect health and daily life.

Answer:

Early psychology

Psychology has its roots in philosophy and biology. Discussions of these two origins date back to ancient Greek thinkers, in particular Aristotle and Socrates. The word "psychology" comes from the Greek word psyche, which means "soul" or "consciousness."

Separate science

The emergence of psychology as a separate and independent field of research actually occurred when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first experimental psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879.

Wundt's work was to describe the constituent elements of thinking. This point of view relied mainly on the analysis of sensations and feelings through introspection, which is highly subjective. Wundt believed that properly trained individuals would be able to correctly identify the mental processes that accompany feelings, sensations and thoughts.

Schools of thought

Throughout the history of psychology, various schools have formed to explain human thought and behavior. These schools of thought became dominant at certain times. Although schools were sometimes perceived as competing forces, each contributed to the understanding of psychology.

  • Structuralism
  • Functionalism
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Behaviorism
  • Humanism
  • Cognitivism

Psychology today

Psychologists today prefer to use more objective scientific methods to understand, explain and predict human behavior. Psychological research is well structured, from hypothesis to empirical testing. The discipline is divided into two main areas: scientific and applied psychology. Scientific psychology deals with the study of various sub-topics, including personality, social behavior, and human development. Psychologists in this area carry out fundamental research aimed at expanding theoretical knowledge, while other researchers are engaged in applied research aimed at finding solutions to everyday problems.

Applied Psychology uses a variety of psychological principles to solve real-world problems. Examples of applied psychology fields are forensic psychology, ergonomics, and industrial organizational psychology. Many other psychologists work as psychotherapists to help people overcome mental, behavioral, and emotional disorders.

Psychology research methods

As psychology departs from philosophical roots, psychologists began to use more and more scientific methods to study human behavior. Modern researchers use a variety of techniques, including experimentation, correlation analysis, longitudinal research, and others, to test, explain, and predict behavior.

Fields of Psychology

Psychology- a broad and varied science. A large number of its sections have appeared. Here are several areas of research and application of psychology:

Pathopsychology- study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. This area focuses on the research and treatment of various mental disorders and is related to psychotherapy and clinical psychology.


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What is Psychology? Many people are interested in the question of what psychology is, what is a simple and understandable definition of psychology. But there are many definitions of psychology, therefore it is impossible to give a monosyllabic definition of the concept of psychology. The simplest definition of psychology as a science is this: Psychology is the science of the human soul. After all, "pshyso" in translation from Greek means "soul", and "logia" - "science, teaching." The standard definition of psychology as a science from psychologists themselves: Psychology is such a science about the laws of development and functioning of human mental activity. Quite a boring, complex and incomprehensible definition, right? To put it simply and more clearly, Psychology is the science of the psychological picture of the world, which lifts the veil over the secret of thoughts, feelings, perceptions, sensations and motives for actions, actions of an individual, several people or society as a whole. The key concept in the study of psychology is the concept of the human psyche. To understand the psyche of people, scientists have studied and are investigating the behavior of animals and the systems of artificially created institutions, for example, schools or organizations. Based on the understanding that the psyche is a special system of subjective phenomena, consisting of various mental states, mental processes and psychological properties of a person and society, it is possible to give the science of psychology the following definition: psychology is a humanitarian science about the laws of development and work of the psyche as specific form of life of a person, team and society. What is a psychologist? A psychologist is a specialist in the field of practical, applied psychology (for example, legal, educational, medical psychology), whose main task is to provide people with timely psychological assistance, alleviate their mental suffering and point the right direction in life. In essence, a psychologist is the same priest. Only if a priest heals a person's soul by turning to God, then a psychologist heals human souls by introspection, identifying and analyzing, analyzing and exposing fears, complexes, illusions (delusions) of a person both about himself and about the people around him, and about life in general. Previously, psychology was often called insanity, and a psychologist, a specialist in psychology, was called inspiration. Psychotherapist is another name for a specialist in the field of practical, applied psychology. If the psychologist simply identifies the deep problems and delusions in the human psyche that prevent him from living normally and happily and reveals to the person the reasons for his behavior, then the psychotherapist not only identifies and diagnoses psychological problems, but also heals with the help of certain therapeutic methods or techniques. What does "psychological" mean? It means "mental", or rather - "logical from the mental point of view", "correct from the point of view of the soul", "scientific from the point of view of the soul." And "psychic" means "spiritual", connected with the soul. The main difference between psychology and psychiatry lies in the fact that psychiatry deals with various disorders, deviations of the normal functioning of the psyche and deals with their treatment, and psychology helps a normal person with a healthy psyche to determine in various problematic everyday situations, gives answers to the questions of how to be and what do next. The science of psychiatry deals with the study of various mental, mental, clearly expressed diseases - insanity, paranoia, schizophrenia, etc. And the science of psychology and psychotherapy helps a person in difficult, crisis moments in life - during divorce, loss of a loved one, failures in personal life or at work ... There is also an interesting definition of psychology as a science: psychology is the healing of the soul. Psychology is a science that sets as its main goal the knowledge of the human soul and its healing, tranquility. The main goal of applied, practical, or as it is also called popular pop psychology, is to make people happy by knowing their own "I" and reconciliation both with themselves and with other people. The original concept of psychology. Psychology is psychology, it is the science of the soul (that is, psychology is the science of the psyche), which learns the laws of development and life of a person's soul in order to make his life complete and happy. After the concept of the psyche, the second key concept in psychology is the concept of personality. The modern science of psychology studies the human soul as one of the most mysterious properties of the human body in order to predict and prevent possible adverse events in a person's life in the future. Also, modern general psychology studies human behavior as a complex of his reactions to external factors. Psychology as a science deals with the study of human consciousness, which is able to feel, think, desire, feel, perceive information from the outer world and the inner world of a person. Also, general psychology necessarily studies the human soul - psyche - by knowing its properties, patterns and mechanisms of work. The science of psychology has its own subject and its basic methods. The subject of psychology is what exactly the science of psychology studies. The subject of study of the science of psychology is the soul (psyche) and man (personality). The method of the science of psychology is exactly how, by what means and ways, psychologists study the subject of psychology - the human soul. There are many psychological scientific methods, but the main of them is the historical method, the logical method, the historical-logical - the dialectical method in psychology, the active method, the structural method, the systemic method, the functional method, the comparative method, the mathematical method, the observational method, the experimental method, the empirical method and other methods of studying psychology and its subject - the soul, human psyche. As for the branches and types of psychology as a science and as a social phenomenon, there are a lot of them: general psychology, personality psychology, collective psychology, social, social psychology, popular psychology - pop psychology, child psychology of a child and children, parental psychology, psychology education and the psychology of punishment, integral psychology, idealistic psychology, existential psychology, humanistic psychology, psychotherapy, political psychology, legal psychology, educational psychology, zoopsychology - animal behavior psychology, behavioral psychology - behaviorism, positivist psychology - positivism, psychology, psycho-psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, transpersonal psychology, psycholinguistics, experimental psychology, clinical, medical psychology, comparative psychology, applied psychology, practical psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, psychology of mo tivations, psychology of feelings and emotions, psychology of business communication, developmental psychology, psychology of relationships, psychology of communication, psychology of management, typhlopsychology, female psychology of women and male psychology of men, psychology of labor, special psychology, family psychology of the family, domestic and foreign psychology, psychology of education , psychology of behavior, psychology of color, scientific psychology, business psychology, cognitive psychology, methodological psychology, psychology of love and sex, psychology of thinking, psychology of conflict, psychology of a teenager, differential psychology, psychology of power and influence, mathematical psychology, psychology of attention, engineering psychology, psychology of speech, individual psychology, psychology of girls, psychology of crisis, economic psychology, preschool psychology, psychology of play, special psychology, health psychology, collective psychology, business psychology, gender, sex psychology, schoolchildren psychology , psychology of a student, psychology of a specialist, psychology of sports, psychology of guys, theoretical psychology, psychology of communication, mass psychology, psychology of culture, situational psychology of situations and various states, psychology of leadership, psychology of sales, psychology of organization, psychology of lies, interpersonal psychology, psychology of personnel, military psychology, musical psychology and many more other types and branches of psychology as a science and a social phenomenon ... The goal of psychology as a science is to answer the question of why a particular person behaves in a given situation in this or that way, and what can be done to change this person's behavior or attitude towards what he does or does not do. So, the science of psychology is the science of the soul, the main task of which is to help a mentally healthy person understand himself and successfully solve temporary everyday difficulties in order to become a Happy Person. If you need psychological help, you can get absolutely free psychological help online in writing from a psychologist at the women's website ForLove.com.ua. Author: Vasilisa Dibrova

Psychology is the science of the psyche and human behavior. The word "psychology" comes from the Greek words "psyche" meaning breath, spirit, soul, and "logia" meaning the study of something.

According to the Medilexicon medical dictionary, psychology is "a profession (clinical psychology), a scientific discipline (academic psychology), and science (research psychology) that relate to human and animal behavior and the mental and psychological processes associated with that behavior."

While psychology can include the study of the brain and behavior of animals, this article focuses exclusively on the psychology of humans.

At the end of some of the paragraphs, there is an introduction to the new directions of development described in MNT news stories. You can also use our links to information on related mental health conditions.

Psychology is the expression in words of what cannot be expressed by them.
John Galsworthy

Psychology facts

The following are key facts-points related to psychology.

More detailed information is provided in the main part of the article:

  • Psychology is the study of behavior and psyche
  • We are unable to physically see mental processes such as thoughts, memory, dreams, and sensations.
  • Clinical psychology brings together science, theory and practice.
  • Cognitive psychology studies internal mental processes, the way people think, perceive and communicate.
  • Developmental psychology studies how people develop psychologically over the course of life.
  • Evolutionary psychology studies how psychological changes during evolution have influenced human behavior.
  • Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the criminal investigation process and to legislation.
  • Health psychology studies the effects of health on behavior, biology, and socialization.
  • Neuropsychology studies the functioning of the brain in relation to various behaviors and psychological processes.
  • Employment psychology examines how people perform work in order to develop and understand the functioning of organizations.
  • Social psychology studies the influence of the actual or perceived presence of other people on the behavior and thoughts of people.

Psychology is the science that studies the activity of the brain

The brain is inherently complex and mysterious. Many people wonder how psychologists can study such a complex, abstract-looking, and very sophisticated object at all. Even if scientists look inside the brain, for example, during an autopsy or during surgery, all they see is gray matter (the brain itself). Unlike, for example, peeling skin or heart disease, it is simply impossible to physically see thoughts, cognition, emotions, memories, dreams, sensations, etc.

Experts say that the approach taken in psychology is not very different from other sciences. As with other sciences, psychology develops experiments that support or refute theories and expectations. For a physicist, the data to be processed during an experiment can come from atoms, electrons, the application or termination of heating, while for a psychologist, such data sources are human behavior.

For the psychologist, human behavior is used as evidence, or at least an indication of the functioning of the brain. We are not able to observe the work of the brain directly; however, in fact, it affects all our actions, feelings and thoughts. This is why human behavior is used as a source of information to test psychological theories about how the brain works.

What is psychology like compared to other sciences?

Many people say that psychology is at the intersection of other disciplines such as medicine, linguistics, sociology, biology, artificial intelligence, anthropology, and even history. For example, neuropsychology - a branch of psychology that studies how different areas of the brain are used in memory processes, in language, in emotions, etc. - is the intersection of biology and medicine.

Various directions of psychology

There are many areas of psychology. How you classify them depends on which part of the world you are in, and even which university or institute you attended.

But the largest areas of psychology can be identified, such as:

Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology combines science, theory and practice in order to understand, predict and alleviate the patient's inability to adapt, disability and discomfort. Clinical psychology also promotes adaptation, mood and personal development. Clinical psychologists focus on the intellectual, emotional, biological, social and behavioral aspects of a person's behavior during his life, with changes in cultural, social and economic levels.

In other words, clinical psychology is the scientific research and application of psychology to understand, prevent and eliminate stress or disability (disability) caused by psychological causes, in order to improve the health and personal development of a patient.

The practice of clinical psychology is based on psychological assessment and psychotherapy (“what is psychotherapy”). However, clinical psychologists are also often involved in research, teaching, forensics, and other areas.

Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology studies such internal mental processes as problem solving, memorization, learning, and language (the way people think, perceive, communicate, remember, and learn). This branch of psychology is closely related to other disciplines such as neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.

Cognitive psychology focuses on how people receive, process, and store information. It is often said that cognitive psychology is the study of intelligence. Practical applications of cognitive research can include improving memory, improving decision-making accuracy, or modifying learning programs to speed up the learning process.

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of the systematic psychological changes experienced by a person throughout his / her life. This branch of psychology is often referred to as the psychology of human development. Previously, it focused only on infants and young children, but today it also includes the study of adolescents and adults - the entire life span of a person.

Developmental psychology includes any psychological factors that act during a person's life, including such as motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, language acquisition, the formation of emotions, personality, self-esteem and identity.

Developmental psychology also studies and compares innate mental structures with those acquired through experience. For example, babies are believed to be born with LAD (innate language acquisition).

The developmental psychologist will be interested in how LAD works in relation to infant development and experience, and how the two are related. He will also be interested in the interaction of human characteristics with environmental factors and how this interaction affects development.

Developmental psychology overlaps with a number of other areas in psychology, as well as with other disciplines such as linguistics.

Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary psychology studies the influence on human behavior of psychological changes in the process of evolution. While biologists talk about natural or sexual selection in evolution, this branch of psychology takes a psychological approach to such selection. For example, an evolutionary psychologist believes that language perception or memory is a functional product of natural selection.

Some evolutionary psychologists have suggested that language acquisition is an innate ability that makes language learning an automatic process, but not associated with reading and writing. In other words, they believe that our ability to learn a language is innate, while our ability to read and write is acquired (language learning is automatic, but we need to learn to read and write). A person born in a French-speaking city will speak French by the age of 20. However, if he is not specially taught to read, he will remain illiterate - the language is acquired automatically if it exists around you, but reading and writing does not.

An evolutionary psychologist is sure that the psychological characteristics of a person are the result of the adaptation of our ancestors to survival in an everyday environment.

Forensic psychology

Forensic psychology applies the principles of psychology to crime investigations and legal proceedings. This direction practices psychology as a science within the framework of the system of conviction of criminals.

Forensic psychology involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdiction in order to interact with judges, lawyers and other professionals in the legal system.

Forensic psychology also examines the ability to testify in court, present psychological findings in legal language in court, and provide data to legal professionals in a way they can understand.

A forensic psychologist must understand the rules, standards and philosophy of the legal system being used.

Health psychology

Health psychology is also called behavioral medicine or medical psychology. This branch of psychology studies how behavior, biology, and social environment affect disease and health. While the doctor treats the disease, the health psychologist focuses more on the person who is sick, figuring out his / her social and economic status, preconditions and behavior that can influence the disease (for example, strict adherence to medical prescriptions), as well as the biological basis of the disease. The goal of such a psychologist is to improve the patient's overall health by analyzing the disease in the context of biopsychological factors. "Biopsychological" here refers to the biological, psychological and social aspects as opposed to the strictly biomedical aspects of the disease.

Health psychologists usually work alongside other health care professionals in a clinical setting.

Neuropsychology

This branch of psychology studies the structure and function of the brain related to behavioral and psychological processes. Neuropsychology is also used to study brain damage and to record the electrical activity of cells and cell groups in higher primates.

The neuropsychologist uses neuropsychological assessment - a systematic assessment procedure - to determine the extent of any potential behavioral problems following a patient's suspected or diagnosed brain injury. Once a diagnosis is made, some patients are treated with an individualized cognitive correction protocol, a treatment that helps the patient overcome their cognitive impairments.

Employment psychology

Employment psychology - referred to in various publications as Industrial Organization Psychology, I-O Psychology, Work Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Work and Organization Psychology, Personnel Psychology, or Talent Assessment - studies the performance of people during work and learning. It develops an understanding of the functioning of organizations and the behavior of individuals and groups of people at work. The Employment Psychologist aims to increase efficiency, effectiveness and job satisfaction.

According to the British Psychological Society, employment psychology “refers to the performance of people at work and during training, to how organizations function, and how individuals and small groups behave at work. and improving individual job satisfaction. "

Social Psychology

Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand and explain how people's feelings, behavior, and thoughts are influenced by the actual, imagined, or perceived presence of others. A social psychologist studies group behavior, social perception, non-verbal behavior, obedience, aggression, prejudice, and leadership. Social perception and social interactions are considered key aspects for understanding social behavior.

Simply put, a social psychologist studies the influence of the people around them on human behavior.

Psychology, in the conventional sense, is an extremely simple science.
People who are not able to drive a nail on their own or rhyme a couple of lines do not doubt their ability to understand and judge others.
In extreme cases, it becomes the meaning of life and a source of self-affirmation.
Sergey Lukyanenko. The maze of reflections

History of psychology

In a philosophical context, psychology already existed thousands of years ago in Greece, Egypt, India, Persia, and China. Medieval Muslim psychologists and doctors practiced a clinical and experimental approach to psychology - they were the first to have psychiatric hospitals.

Biological psychology was created by Pierre Cabanis (France) in 1802. The psychologist Cabanis wrote a famous essay titled "Rapports du physique et du moral de l" homme "(Rapports du physique et du moral de l" homme "). nervous system.

The year 1879 can be considered the birth of modern psychology. This year, German physician Wilhelm Wundt founded psychology as a completely independent experimental line of research. He opened the first laboratory at the University of Leipzig, in which he conducted exclusively psychological research. Today Wundt is considered the father of psychology.

In 1980, American psychologist William James published Principles of Psychology, which has been discussed for decades by psychologists around the world.

The first psychologist to study memory exclusively was Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) of the University of Berlin. Psychologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) is today known even among ordinary people thanks to the term "Pavlov's dog". He studied learning processes called "classical conditioning".

Psychoanalysis

Currently, psychologists have emerged such directions as behaviorism, psychoanalytic theory, and the theory of cognitive perception. Psychology has become much more multifaceted.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), (Austria) developed psychoanalysis - a method of psychotherapy ("What is psychotherapy?"). His understanding of the psyche was largely based on interpretation, introspection, and clinical observation. Freud concentrated on solving unconscious conflicts, mental illness and psychopathology.

Freud's theories about sexuality and the subconscious psyche became famous, probably because sexuality was a taboo topic in those days. The basic principle of Freud's theory is that the subconscious is responsible for most of the thoughts and behavior of each person, as well as for mental disorders or diseases. Freud had a significant influence on the psychiatrist Carl Young (Switzerland).

Structuralism versus functionalism

E.B. Titchner (USA), a student of Wundt, was an ardent supporter of structuralism. William James and John Dewey were strong adherents of functionalism. Structuralism deals with the question "what is consciousness", while functionalism is interested in the questions "what is consciousness for? What goals or functions of creation constitute the basis of the mental process?"

Structuralists and functionalists are passionately at odds with each other. Most agree that there will never be a clear winner in their argument - but their discussion has led to the rapid spread of psychology in the United States, as well as other parts of the world. The first psychological laboratory in the United States was opened by Stanley Hall at Johns Hopkins University.

Behaviorism

In 1913, American psychologist John Watson founded a new movement that changed the focus of psychology. Watson was convinced that both the structuralists and the functionalists deviated too far from objective science. Simply put, Watson said that psychology should focus on the study of behavior, since he was convinced that behavior is not the result of internal mental processes, but rather is the result of our response to environmental stimuli.

Behaviorism focuses on how people learn new behaviors in their environment. This trend has become very popular in the United States, where psychologist B.F. Skimmer.

Humanism

Some psychologists perceive behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory as overly mechanistic. Instead of being a victim of the environment or the subconscious, humanists say, a person is internally correct, and only our own mental processes play an active role in our behavior.

The humanist movement values ​​our emotions, free will, and subjective perception of sensations.

Cognitive theory

This branch of psychology originated in the 1970s and is considered the most modern philosophical movement in psychology. The cognitive perspective is much more objective and more calculable than the humanistic perspective. However, it differs from the one in that it mainly concentrates on mental processes.

Cognitive theorists are convinced that we receive information from our environment through our senses and then mentally process this data, organizing it, manipulating it, and linking it with the information that we have accumulated earlier. Cognitive theory applies to language, memory, learning, perception systems, mental illness, and dreams.

Present day

Today there are no dominant directions, as it was in psychology before. Behaviorism, psychoanalytic theory, humanism, and cognitive perception - all of these areas are now being actively developed by psychologists. Psychology has become much more diverse (by selecting what seems to be the best from each doctrine, trend, or philosophical trend).

Our whole life is an endless series of events, situations, deeds, meetings, conversations, changes, victories and defeats, hopes and disappointments. In other words, a person's life is a constant interaction of his inner world with the surrounding reality. Every day we wake up, start our day, do different things, communicate with many people, go to work, develop a business or do something else. Human life in the modern world is life in the world of high technologies, an endless flow of information, rapid development and changes. And in order to meet all the requirements of the surrounding reality, a person must be developed, able to overcome difficulties and have an unbending inner core that will always support and help to stay strong. The modern world is ready to swallow a person in a matter of seconds, make him part of the gray mass, depersonalize, devastate and throw him to the sidelines. And if a person is not ready for this, then defeat is inevitable. But there is a way to emerge victorious in this struggle.

One of the most important knowledge for a person in our time is knowledge in the field of psychology, and one of the most important skills is the ability to apply it in practice. To understand people, be able to find a common language with them and communicate, be able to instantly adapt to any situation, always help yourself and others, you need to understand psychology. So that the problems and stress that today press on a person with tremendous force, do not break you or your loved ones, and you or they can continue on your way, you need to understand human psychology. To understand others at a deep level, to be able to raise oneself, raise one's children, influence others, one needs to know the nuances of human psychology. To achieve success, achieve new results, conquer new heights, live in prosperity, harmony and well-being, you need to possess important knowledge - knowledge of human psychology.

Considering the importance of psychological knowledge, as well as the reasons that motivate people to grow and develop, their desire to become better and improve their lives, we have created this course called "Human Psychology". In the lessons of this course, we examine in detail very important things: we reveal the main and key problems of human psychology, the stages and patterns of its development and, the formation of the features of its behavior and communication with people. This course provides an opportunity to answer questions about how to understand human psychology, how to influence your own life, others and, most importantly, yourself. Studying psychology and applying the knowledge gained in life contributes to personal growth, improving personal life, establishing excellent relationships, achieving success in the professional field and other areas of activity. This course "Human Psychology" is an online training course consisting of lessons that contain interesting theoretical information about human psychology, provide examples (experiences, tests, experiments) and, most importantly, give a large number of practical advice that you can put into practice already on the first day of acquaintance with the training. At the end of the course, links to useful materials are provided: books (including audiobooks), videos, recordings of seminars, experiments and quotes about psychology.

Psychology(from the ancient Greek "knowledge of the soul") is a science that studies structures and processes inaccessible to external observation (which is sometimes called "soul") in order to explain human behavior, as well as the behavior of individuals, groups and collectives.

It is a complex, but important and interesting discipline to study. As it has probably already become clear, human psychology is a very fascinating area of ​​scientific knowledge and covers many sections, which you, if you wish, can get acquainted with on your own. You can even say that it is from this moment that your self-development will begin, because you will independently make a decision about what specifically you would like to study and begin to master new knowledge. Human psychology, in itself, has many properties, one of which is the fear of everything new and incomprehensible. For many people, this is an obstacle to self-development and the achievement of the desired results. We recommend that you set aside any fears and doubts, and start studying the materials of our site and this course. After a while, you will be proud of yourself, thanks to the new skills and the results achieved.

Psychology object is a person. Hence, we can conclude that any psychologist (or interested in psychology) is a researcher of himself, due to which a close relationship between the objective and the subjective arises in psychological theories.

Psychology subject in different historical epochs has always been understood in different ways and from the standpoint of different directions of psychological science:

  • Soul. All researchers adhered to this position until the beginning of the 18th century.
  • Phenomena of consciousness. Direction: English Empirical Association Psychology. Key representatives: David Gartley, John Stuart Mill, Alexander Ben, Herbert Spencer.
  • Subject's direct experience. Direction: structuralism. Key representatives: Wilhelm Wundt.
  • Adaptability. Direction: functionalism. Key Representatives: William James.
  • The origin of mental activities. Direction: psychophysiology. Main representatives: Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov.
  • Behavior. Direction: behaviorism. Key spokespersons: John Watson.
  • The unconscious. Direction: psychoanalysis. Main representatives: Sigmund Freud.
  • Information processing processes and their results. Direction: Gestalt Psychology. Key representatives: Max Wertheimer.
  • Personal experience of a person. Direction: humanistic psychology. Key representatives: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Victor Frankl, Rollo May.

The main sections of psychology:

  • Acmeology
  • Differential psychology
  • Gender psychology
  • Cognitive psychology
  • Virtual psychology
  • Military psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Engineering psychology
  • Clinical (medical psychology)
  • Neuropsychology
  • Pathopsychology
  • Psychosomatics and psychology of corporality
  • Oncopsychology
  • Psychotherapy
  • Pedagogical psychology
  • Psychology of art
  • Parenting psychology
  • Work psychology
  • Sports psychology
  • Psychology of management
  • Economic psychology
  • Ethnopsychology
  • Legal psychology
  • Criminal psychology
  • Forensic psychology

As it is easy to see, there are many branches of psychology, and different directions study different aspects of a person's personality and his activities. Which section will be to your liking personally, you can determine by reading each of them yourself. In our course, we consider human psychology in general, without highlighting any directions, types or sections, but making it possible to use new skills in any area of ​​life.

Application of psychological knowledge

The application of psychological knowledge is absolutely necessary and useful in any area of ​​human activity: family, study, science, work, business, friendship, love, creativity, etc. But it is important to learn how to apply the relevant knowledge in different situations. After all, what can work effectively in communication with work colleagues may not work at all in a relationship with a loved one. What is family-friendly may not be creative. Although, of course, there are general techniques that are universal and work almost always and everywhere.

Knowledge of psychology gives a person many advantages: it develops and makes him more erudite, educated, interesting, versatile. A person with psychological knowledge is able to understand the true reasons for the events occurring with him (and others), realize the motives of his behavior and understand the motives of the behavior of others. Knowledge of human psychology is the ability to solve many problems with significantly greater speed and efficiency, an increase in the ability to withstand adversity and setbacks, the ability to achieve outstanding results where others cannot. The skill of applying psychological knowledge, provided it is systematically and regularly consolidated, will make you a stronger person with significant advantages over others. You can list all the advantages for a very, very long time. But, as they say, it is better to see once than hear a hundred times. And drawing an analogy with this proverb, we can say that it is better to apply once than read a hundred times.

It is also worth noting that the knowledge of psychology has long been applied by you in everyday life. But only this is done spontaneously, unconsciously and without understanding what kind of strength, power and potential this knowledge actually carries in itself. And if you really want to get closer to your “better self” and improve your life, this can and should be deliberately learned.

How can I learn this?

Naturally, knowledge about psychology is not present with us from birth, but is formed during life. Someone, of course, has a predisposition to psychology. Such people often become psychologists, intuitively understand people, look at life a little differently. Others have to specifically study psychological knowledge, put more effort and patience to assimilate them. But, in any case, you can learn everything. And to master the skill of applying psychological knowledge - even more so. Moreover, you can do it yourself.

There are two aspects of teaching this skill - theoretical and practical.

  • The theoretical aspect of psychology- this is the knowledge that is taught in educational institutions, as well as given in the presented course;
  • The practical aspect of psychology- this is the application of new knowledge in life, i.e. transition from theory to practice.

But it often happens that a theory remains a theory, because people simply do not know what to do with the information they now possess. Any lessons, courses, trainings, lectures, seminars, etc. should be aimed at the practical application of knowledge in real life.

Taking this feature into account, the course was compiled, the introduction to which you are now reading. The purpose of this course is not only to give you a good theoretical base of psychological knowledge, but also to teach you to use this knowledge. All lessons of the course have a two-way focus - this is theory and practice. The theoretical part contains the most important knowledge on the topic of human psychology and represents their quintessence. The practical part, in turn, consists of recommendations, advice, psychological methods and techniques, calculated on the fact that you will use them.

This course "Human Psychology" is:

  • Material, systematized and understandable to any person, presented in a simple, interesting and accessible form.
  • A collection of useful tips and tricks that are easy to put into practice from day one.
  • The opportunity to see yourself and your life, as well as other people from a new, previously unknown to you side.
  • The ability to increase the level of your intelligence, education and erudition to several levels, which undoubtedly plays a significant role in the life of a modern person.
  • The ability to find the main motivating force that will motivate you to go only forward and achieve success.
  • An opportunity to grow as a person, and improve the level and quality of your life.
  • The opportunity to learn how to establish contact with any people (from their own children and parents to bosses and hooligans on the street).
  • The way to come to harmony and happiness.

Do you want to test your knowledge?

If you want to test your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how it suits you, you can take our test. In each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you have selected one of the options, the system automatically proceeds to the next question.

Psychology lessons

Having studied a lot of theoretical materials, choosing the most important and adapting for practical use, we have created a series of lessons on human psychology. They consider the most popular sections and areas of psychology, provide data from scientific research and the opinions of specialists. But the most important thing is that the emphasis of each lesson is made precisely on practical advice and recommendations.

How to take classes?

The information from the lessons of this course is fully adapted for use in practice and is suitable for absolutely everyone. The most important thing here, as has been said more than once, is the transition from theory to practice. You can read smart books for years and know a lot of things, but all this will be zero if it remains just a baggage of knowledge.

You can divide the study of all lessons into several stages. For example, set yourself a task, study 2 lessons per week: 1 day - study of the material, 2 days - check in practice, 1 day - day off, etc. But you need not just read, but study: carefully, consciously, purposefully. The very same tips and practical recommendations presented in the lessons are important not just to check or apply once, but to systematically introduce them into your daily activities. Get in the habit of always remembering that you are studying human psychology - this will automatically make you want to apply something new in life over and over again. Over time, the skill of applying psychological knowledge in practice will become refined and automatic, because it depends more on experience. And our lessons are precisely aimed at teaching you how to get this experience and give it the right direction.

Supplements and support materials:

Psychological games and exercises

Games and exercises designed specifically to learn about the peculiarities of the human psyche. There are different types of such games and exercises: for children and for adults, massive and single, for men and for women, arbitrary and purposeful, etc. The use of psychological games and exercises helps people understand others and themselves, form some qualities and get rid of others, etc. This includes exercises for the development of various qualities, overcoming stress, increasing self-esteem, role-playing, developmental, health games and many other games and exercises.

Psychology(Greek - soul; Greek - knowledge) is a science that studies the behavior and mental processes of people and animals. Psyche- this is the highest form of the relationship of living beings with the objective world, expressed in their ability to realize their motives and act on the basis of information about it . Through the psyche, a person reflects the laws of the world around him.

Thinking, memory, perception, imagination, sensation, emotions, feelings, inclinations, temperament, - all these points are studied by psychology. But the main question remains - what drives a person, his behavior in a given situation, what are the processes of his inner world? The range of issues solved by psychology is quite wide. So, in modern psychology, a large number of sections are distinguished:

  • general psychology,
  • age-related psychology,
  • social Psychology,
  • psychology of religion,
  • pathopsychology,
  • neuropsychology,
  • family psychology,
  • sports psychology
  • etc.

Other sciences and branches of scientific knowledge also penetrate into psychology ( genetics, speech therapy, jurisprudence, anthropology, psychiatry and etc.). Is happening integration of classical psychology with oriental practices... To live in harmony with oneself and with the surrounding world, a modern person needs to master the basics of psychology.

"Psychology is the expression of words that cannot be expressed by them"- wrote John Galsworthy.

Psychology operates with the following methods:

  • Introspection- observation of one's own mental processes, knowledge of one's own mental life without using any tools.
  • Observation- study of certain characteristics of a process without active involvement in the process itself.
  • Experiment- empirical research of a certain process. The experiment can be built on the simulation of activities under specially specified conditions, or can be carried out in conditions close to normal activities.
  • Development research- the study of certain characteristics of the same children who are being observed for several years.

The origins of modern psychology were Aristotle, Ibn Sina, Rudolph Goklenius, who first used the concept of "psychology", Sigmund Freud, about which, for sure, even a person who has nothing to do with psychology has heard. As a science, psychology emerged in the second half of the 19th century, separated from philosophy and physiology. Psychology explores mechanisms of the psyche are unconscious and conscious human.

A person turns to psychology in order to know himself and better understand his loved ones... This knowledge helps to see and realize the true motives of their actions. Psychology is also called the science of the soul., which at certain moments of life begins to ask questions, - " who am I? "," where am I? "," why am I here? " Why does a person need this knowledge and awareness? To stay on the road of life and not fall into one ditch and then into another. And having fallen, find the strength to rise and move on.

Interest in this area of ​​knowledge is growing. When training the body, athletes necessarily come to psychological knowledge and expand it. Moving towards our goals, building relationships with people, overcoming difficult situations, we also turn to psychology. Psychology is actively joining education and upbringing, business, and art.

A person is not only a storehouse of certain knowledge, skills and abilities, but also a person with his emotions, feelings, ideas about this world.

Today, knowledge of psychology is indispensable either at work or at home. To sell oneself or a manufactured product requires certain knowledge. To have well-being in the family and be able to resolve conflicts, knowledge of psychology is also necessary. To understand the motives of people's behavior, learn to manage their emotions, be able to build relationships, be able to convey their thoughts to the interlocutor - and here psychological knowledge will come to the rescue. Psychology begins where a person appears and, knowing the basics of psychology, you can avoid many mistakes in life. "Psychology is the ability to live."

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