Psychology is the science of mind and human behaviour
What is Psychology?
- Psychology: the science of the mind
- How do psychologists study the mind?
- Human behaviour: the data of psychology
- Psychology and other disciplines
- Branches of psychology
Psychology: the science of the mind
Psychology is that the science of the mind. The human mind is that the most complex machine on Earth. it’s the source of all thought and behavior .
How do psychologists study the mind?
But how can we study something as complex and mysterious because the mind? Even if we were to separate open the skull of a eager volunteer and have a glance inside, we might only see the gloopy grey stuff of the brain. We cannot see someone thinking. Nor can we detect their sentiments, or memories, or perceptions and dreams. So how do psychologists set about studying the mind?
In fact, psychologists adopt an identical approach to scientists in other fields. Nuclear physicists curious about the structure of atoms cannot observe protons, electrons and neutrons directly. Instead, they predict how these elements should behave and devise experiments to verify or refute their expectations.
Human behaviour: the data of psychology
In a related way, psychologists use human behaviour as a clue to the mechanisms of the mind. Although we cannot observe the mind directly, everything we do, think, feel and say is decided by the functioning of the mind.
So psychologists take human behaviour because the data for testing their theories about how the mind works.
“Since the German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) opened the primary psychonomics lab in Leipzig in 1879, we’ve learned a huge amount about the connection between brain, mind and behavior .”
Psychology and other disciplines
Psychology deceptions at the intersection of the many other altered restraints, including biology, medicine, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and AI (AI).
For example, neuropsychology is associated with biology,
since the aim is to map diverse areas of the brain and enlighten how each underpins different brain functions like memory or language.
Other branches of psychology are more closely linked with medicine.
Health psychologists benefit people manage disease and pain.
Similarly, clinical psychologists support alleviate the suffering caused by mental disorders.
Branches of psychology
Any plan to explain why humans think and behave within the way that they are doing will inevitably be linked to at least one or another branch of psychology. the various disciplines of psychology are extremely wide-ranging. They include:
- Clinical psychology
- Cognitive psychology: memory
- Cognitive psychology: intelligence
- Developmental psychology
- Evolutionary psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Health psychology
- Neuropsychology
- Occupational psychology
- Social psychology
You can learn more about these disciplines by selecting from the list of links on the proper hand side of the page.
What of these different approaches to psychology have in common may be a desire to elucidate the behaviour of people supported the workings of the mind. And in every area, psychologists apply scientific methodology.
They formulate theories, test hypotheses over opinion and experimentation, and analyse the findings with arithmetical methods that help them identify important findings.
