Psychology as a science of behavior

Dr. Jayesh Patidar
www.drjayeshpatidar.blogspot.com

 Psychology is an offspring of subject
philosophy.
 Psychology is a Greek word, „psychi‟ &
logos‟.
 „Psychi‟ means soul & „logos‟ means
the study of or ;knowledge‟ – study of
soul.
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 “Any manifestation of life is activity” & behavior
is a collective name for these activities.
 The term behavior includes all the
 Motor or conative activates (walking, swimming,
dancing etc.)
 Cognitive activities (thinking, reasoning,
imagining)
 Affective activities (feeling happy, sad, angry,
etc.)
 The term behavior refers to the entire life
activities & experiences of all the living
organisms.
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 Psychology as a separate area of study, split
away from philosophy a little over 100 year ago.
 In 1879, the first psychological laboratory was
established at the University of Leipzing by the
German Philosopher – psychologist Wilhelm
Wundt. (1832-1920).
 Wundt was the first to measure human behavior
accurately & is known as the “Father of
Psychology”
 In the first decades of the twentieth century,
psychologists came to hold quite different views
about the nature of mind & the best ways to
study it.
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 Schools of thought formed around these
psychologists.
 These schools of thought were known as the
schools of psychology.
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 Psychology is the science of human behavior.
-Walter Bowers Pillsbury-1911
 Psychology is a science which aims to give us
better understanding & control of the behavior
of the organism as a whole.
-William Mc Doughall-1949
 Psychology is the investigation of human &
animal behavior & of the mental & physiological
processes associated with the behavior.
-Jackson-1976
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•Almost all the methods of psychology
are more or less scientific in their
nature. Out of these the experimental
method is the most exact. Modern
psychology uses this method in all its
branches.
Psychology
uses
scientific
methods
•Psychology studies the facts of
behavior. The psychologist is
objective in his observations &
experiments. The field of psychology
is not values but facts.
Psychology
is factual
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• At all times & places the laws of psychology
have been found to be same under similar
conditions.
The laws of
psychology are
universal
• By verification & re-verification
psychological principles have been found to
be true everywhere. They can be verified by
any one
The laws of
psychology are
verifiable
• Psychology not only observe behavior, but
also finds out cause-effect relationship in it.
Psychology discovers
the cause-effect
relationship in
human behavior
Psychology
predict human
behavior
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• By discovering the cause-effect
relationship, psychologists also predict
human behavior & these predictions are
generally correct.

Clinical psychology: It is the largest
subfield of psychology (55%). It is the
study of techniques which are employed
in the diagnosis & treatment of mentally
& emotionally abnormal personalities.
Counseling psychology: It deals with
people with relatively mild personal or
emotional problems
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Social psychology: It deals with the
behavior of an individual as it influenced
by others & how an individual influences
others‘ behavior
Experimental psychology: It involves
basic research into the fundamental
causes of human behavior by studying
such basic processes as learning &
memory, sensation & perception &
motivation
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Developmental psychology: It studies the
behavior as it develops from birth,
through childhood, adolescence &
maturity to old age.
Psychobiology & Evolutionary
psychology: It Studies the biological &
physiological bases of behavior in animals
& human being
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Industrial & Organizational psychology:
The study of behavior in work setting is a
central concern of this field. The methods
of personnel selection, training,
motivation of employees, job design &
process of organizational development
are studies in detail
Health psychology: This field deals with
individual behaviors & lifestyle affecting
a person’s physical health.
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Abnormal psychology: It deals with the
behavior of individuals who are unusual.
It studies mental disorders, their causes &
treatment.
Community psychology: It is a broad
field where social problems & the
attempts of people to adapt to their work
& community living are studies in the
light of the principles of general
psychology
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BRANCHES OF
PSYCHOLOGY
Branches of
Pure
Psychology
Branches of
Applied
Psychology
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General Psychology: It deals with fundamental rules,
principles & theories of psychology in relation to the study
of behavior of normal adult.
Abnormal Psychology: It deals the behavior of individuals
who are unusual. It studies mental disorders, their causes
& treatment.
Social Psychology: It deals with the group behavior &
inter-relationships of people with other people (how
individual is influenced by other’s & how an individual
influences other’s behavior). Social psychologists study the
ways in which individuals are affected by other people.

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Physiological Psychology: This branch of psychology
describe & explains the biological & physiological basis of
behavior. It emphasizes on the influence of bodily factors
on human behavior.
Para-Psychology: It deals extra –sensory perceptions,
causes of rebirth, telepathy & allied problems.
Geo-Psychology: This branch of psychology describes &
explains the relation of physical environment particularly
weather, climate & soil with behavior.

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Developmental Psychology: It studies the factors that
influence the growth & development of human behavior.
This branch of psychology describes the processes of
growth & development in relation to the behavior of an
individual from birth to old age. It further subdivided into
branches like child psychology, adolescent , adult & old
age psychology.
Experimental Psychology: This branch of psychology
studies the ways & means of carrying out psychological
experiments by using scientific methods. Experimental
psychologists do basic research in an effort to discover &
understand the fundamental & general causes of behavior.

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Educational Psychology: It is a branch of
applied psychology which tries to apply the
psychological principles, theories &
techniques to human behavior in educational
situation. Educational psychologists are most
often involved in increase in the efficiency of
learning in schools by applying psychological
knowledge about learning & motivation.
Clinical Psychology: This is the largest sub-
field of psychology. This branch of applied
psychology describes the causes of mental
illness, abnormal behavior of a patient &
suggests treatment & effective adjustment of
the affected person in society.

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Industrial Psychology: This branch of
applied psychology tries to seek application
of the psychological principles, theories &
techniques for the study of human behavior
in relation to industrial environment. They
also counsel employees within the
organization who need help with their
personal problems.
Legal Psychology: It is a branch of applied
psychology which tries to study the behavior
of persons like clients, criminals, witnesses
etc. with the help of applications of
psychological principles & techniques. The
root causes of the crime, offence, dispute or
any legal case can be properly understood
through the use of this branch of psychology.

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Military Psychology: This branch of
psychology is concerned with the use of
psychological principles & techniques in the
military science. How to keep the morale of
the soldiers & citizen high during war time,
how to secure better recruitment of the
personnel for the fighting capacities &
organizational climate & leadership etc. the
various topics that are dealt with in this
branch of psychology
Political Psychology: This branch of
psychology relates itself with the use of
psychological principles & techniques in
studying politics & driving poltical gains.

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Biopsychology Neuropsychology
Cognitive
Psychology
Counseling
Psychology
Cross-cultural
Psychology
Environmental
Psychology
Evolutionary
Psychology
Experimental
Psychology
Forensic
Psychology
Health
Psychology
Personality
Psychology
School
Psychology
Sport Psychology

 Introspection or self-observation method
 Observational method
 Experimental method
 Clinical or Case history method
 Survey method
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 This is one of the
oldest methods of
psychology.
 Introspection means
to look within.
 The subject is asked
to systematically
observe his own
behavior & report the
same.
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 For example; a patient after an operation may
be asked to report how he feels. The patient will
try to look within & recall what happened & how
he is feeling now. In making this report, the
patient is making use of this method.
 It is a method in which the individual observes,
analysis & reports his own feelings, thoughts or
all that passes in his mind during the course of
a mental act or experience.
 Introspection is nothing but retrospection.
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Merits
 Observation & experiment are based upon
introspection.
 It gives us direct, immediate, certain & exact
knowledge of our own mental processes.
 It enables us to fully understand the behavior of
an individual.
 It helps in need to know what is going on in the
mind of the person.
 This method is inexpensive & does not require
any apparatus or laboratory.
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Demerits
 This method can not used by children, animals
or mentally retards because they cannot
introspect.
 Something that is going in another person‟s
mind is not accessible to us because mental
processes are vague & obscure & cannot be
observed.
 Mental processes are fleeting & evanescent by
their nature, they elude grasp of internal
perception.
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Demerits Count…
 Two psychologists cannot observe the same
mental processes (e.g., fear).
 Introspection implies a cleavage in the
observing mind for, the same mind is the
observer & the observed.
 Introspection sometimes involves attention to a
mental process (e.g., perception) which is
produced by an external object.
All the difficulties of introspection can be
overcome by habit & discipline of mind.
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 It is the objective
method of studying the
behavior of individuals.
 It consists of perception
of an individual‟s
behavior under natural
conditions by the other
individuals &
interpretation & analysis
of this perceived
behavior by them.
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 It is essentially a way of perceiving the behavior
like as it is.
 We can infer the mental processes of other
persons through observation of their behavior.
 Steps in Observation Method
1. Observation of behavior
2. Noting of behavior
3. Interpretation & analysis of behavior
4. generalization
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Merits
⇝It is economical, natural, as well as flexible.
⇝The data which is studied through the
observations can be analyzed, measured,
classified & interpreted.
⇝The result can be verified & relied.
⇝It is quite suitable for observing developmental
characteristics like children‟s habits & interests.
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Demerits
⇝Through observation it is impossible to
know what is happening in the minds of
others; we can only observe this through
external behavior.
⇝Subjectivity factors on the part of the
investigator as well as the process of
observation also affect the results of
observation.
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Demerits Count…
⇝It lies in the fact that the behavior observed
dependent on the particular time & place & on
the particular individual or groups of individuals
involved.
⇝It not being to establish a proper cause & effect
relationship
The difficulties of observation method are
overcome by cultivating an impartial attitude of
mind, by constructive imagination & cautious
observation.
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 It is considered as the most
scientific & objective
method of studying
behavior.
 The word experiment
comes from a Latin word
meaning “to try”, “put to the
test”.
 The use of this method has
raised psychology to the
status of an experimental
science like physics,
Chemistry & Physiology.
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 In psychology experimental study is used to study
the cause & effect relationship regarding the
nature of human behavior, i.e. the effect of
anxiety on human behavior.
Essential Features of Experimental Method
 Require two persons, the experimenter & the
subject or the person whose behavior is observed.
 Experimentation should be done on living
organism.
 All experiments are conducted under controlled
conditions.
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Steps in Experimentation
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Stating the Problem
Formulation of
Hypothesis
Group I Treatment
Group
Measures the dependent variable
(Physical & mental health of
students)
Identify study
Subjects
Group II Control
Group
Compare the results
of two groups

Merits
⇝Scientific method
⇝Finds out cause & effect relationship
⇝Maximum control of phenomena
⇝Repetition is possible
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Demerits
⇝It advocates the study of behavior under
completely controlled rigid conditions.
⇝Difficulty in controlling or equalizing
intervening variable.
⇝All problems of psychology cannot
studied by this method, as we cannot
perform experiment for all the problems
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Demerits Count…
⇝The dynamic nature of human behavior does
not allow the independent variable leading to a
change in the dependent variable.
⇝It is costly & time consuming method.
In spite of various limitations it is a fact that,
the results obtained by experimental method
are reliable, verifiable, definite, precise &
capable of quantitative treatment than those
obtained by use of other methods
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 It is used by clinical
psychologists,
psychiatric social
workers in child
guidance clinics or
mental hygiene clinics
& allied institutions.
 It aims at studying the
cause & basis of
people‟s anxieties, fear
& personal
maladjustments.
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 The relevant data is collected by using case
histories, interview, home visits & psychological
tests to draw valid inferences about the nature of
the individual‟s difficulties & problems.
 In this techniques, information is collected from
the memory of the individual, his parents
members of his family, friends, teachers & all
other available records & reports.
 The case history is constructed from actual
observations made by the investigator according
to a plan.
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Merit
 Case histories will give the clinician an insight
into the causes of the problem & suggest
possible solutions.
 Case studies can be productive sources of ideas
for further investigation by other methods.
Demerit
 The case history method depends largely on
memory of incidents which may have been
observed inaccurately or over interpreted.
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 This is commonly
employed in social
psychology.
 Some problems like
study of opinions,
attitudes, health
care needs etc. can
be studied by
means of survey
method.
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 The survey method involves collection or
gathering of information from a large number of
people by using questionnaires, inventories &
interviews.
 An adequate survey requires a carefully pre-
tested questionnaire, a group of interviewers
trained in its use, a representative subject, &
appropriate methods of data analysis so that the
results are properly interpreted.
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Merit
 A large amount of data can be collected in
a shorter time.
Demerit
 The behavior is not observed directly.
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 Theories of learning, motivation &
personality, etc, have been responsible for
shaping & designing the educational
system according to the needs &
requirements of the students.
 The application of psychology in the field
of education has helped the learners to
learn, the teachers to teach, administrators
to administer & educational planners to
plan efficiently & effectively.
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 A doctor, nurse or any person who attends
the patient needs to know the science of
behavior to achieve good results.
 Psychology has contributed valuable
therapeutic measures like behavior therapy,
play therapy, group therapy,
psychoanalysis etc., for the diagnosis &
cure of patients suffering from
psychosomatic as well as mental diseases.
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 It has highlighted the importance of
knowledge of consumer‟s psychology &
harmonious interpersonal relationship in
the field of commerce & industry.
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 It has helped in detection of crimes & in
dealing with criminals.
 It has proved useful to the politicians &
leaders to learn the qualities of leadership
for leading the masses.

 It has provided valuable help in guidance &
counseling in educational personal as well as
vocational aspects.
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 Psychology helps in the selection, training,
promotion & classification of defense
personnel.
 In fighting the enemy, the moral of the
defense personnel & of citizens must at all
costs be high & this can only be achieved by
providing suggestions, insight & confidence.

 It helped human beings to learn the art of
understanding their own behavior, seeking
adjustment with their self & others &
enhancing as well as actualizing their
potentialities to the utmost possible.
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 She will get an insight into her motives, desires,
emotions & ambitions.
 She will realize how her personality is highly
individualistic & complex, arrives at decisions in
her own problems.
 By knowing her strengths & weaknesses, she can
best use her own personality characteristics.
 This will let her direct her own life more
productively & relate more easily with others,
enabling her to control situations & attain self-
discipline.
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 The student nurse has to study, work & live
with other nurses, doctors, patient & their
families.
 With her scientific knowledge of human
nature, she will understand them better &
thus achieve greater success in interpersonal
relationships.
 She will learn why others differ from her in
their likes & dislikes, in their interests &
abilities or in their reactions to others.
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 She will realize how differences in behavior to
some extent, are due to differences in customs
& beliefs or cultural patterns of the groups to
which she belongs or to the way she has been
brought up during her early years.
 As such the student nurse will make allowances
for other shortcomings & idiosyncrasies &
develop attitudes to tolerance, which is
essential for all types of human adjustments.
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 A nurse with good knowledge of human
psychology can understand what fears or
anxieties the patient faces, what he feels, what he
would like to know, why he behaves the way he
does.
 It will help the patients & his relatives, thus help
patients & relatives adjust to the unavoidable
circumstances in the best possible way.
 In health care setting the patient‟s role in
treatment is a major factor. A good understanding
of these patients by nurse can be the best support
to him. 2/6/2015 57

 Illness & physical handicaps often bring
about the need for major adjustments.
 Many diseases such as heart disease &
cancer etc. require special coping skills &
health care.
 A nurse trained in psychology can be an
effective health educator & can help in this
kind of adjustments.
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 The change in the environment is
sometimes necessary for better
adjustment & happiness.
 For example, a boy who is denied
completely the affectionate care of his
patients may do better if he is given the
care of foster parents.
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 The nurse has to learn many new things
during her training.
 She has to obtain the knowledge of correct
facts about diseases & treatment.
 The study of psychology of learning will
help the nurse to acquire knowledge in an
effective way.
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 She will recognize how her emotions affect
her body & recognize the same in her
patients also.
 The will help her to control her life &
recognize the similar needs in her patients
too.
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 Hospitalization is often considered to be a
negative experience.
 Some people associate hospitals with
fearful things such as pain or death.
 A nurse with psychology background can
help a patient to overcome these
difficulties.
 The nurse is a mediating factor & more
communicative to patient than the doctor .
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 Every profession & career requires readjustment.
 A nurse needs to make the different kinds of
adjustments for success in the nursing career,
such as;
 Overcoming of homesickness & self-reliance is
needed if she has to live smoothly in a hostel or
a hospital.
 Adjusting to sick persons, who may cry or be
desperate or even ventilate their anger by
making the nurse a target of their abuses &
curses.
 Trying to work & study together.
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Psychology as a science of behavior

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