Psychology is defined as the science of mental processes, behavior, and experiences. It helps understand how and why people behave differently. Some key methods in psychology include observation, experiments, interviews, questionnaires, and case studies. Psychology is related to other social sciences like anthropology, which studies cultures, and sociology, which studies social groups and structures. Psychology also informs fields like education, biology, medicine, and economics by providing insights into human behavior, development, learning, and mental health.

1. PSYCHOLOGY
1ST G.N.M.
BY
MR. VIPUL KHANT

2. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF
PSYCHOLOGY
• The two Greek words – ‘ Psyche ’ and ‘logos’ from the term
“Psychology”.
• ‘psyche’ means “soul” & ‘logos’ means “science”
• Psychology means the science of soul.
• Psychology mainly deals with the analysis of the behavior that mail
and mind.
• This is an academic stream and a form of applied science that
mainly tries to have a better understanding of people, groups through
developing common principles and conducting research in certain
cases.

3. Definition
• According to B.F. Skinner, Psychology should be defined as a "science of behaviour and
experiences on human beings".
• According to Crow and Crow, "Psychology is the study of human behaviour and human
relationship.”
• According to Woodworth, "Psychology studies the individuals' activities in relation to
the environment."
• Thus, Psychology is defined as the science of mental processes, behaviour and
experiences. It helps us to understand the behaviour of people around us, to find out how
and why they behave differently.

4. Nature/
Characteristics
of Psychology
Human behaviour
Types of human behaviour
Studies of individual differences
Heredity and environment
Diagnosis therapy
Techniques of counselling
Positive science

5. Human Behaviour:
• Psychology is the stream of science that mainly deals with the study of
human behaviour. The main focus of psychology is to provide
explanations and to have a better understanding of human behaviour,
to estimate and manage behaviour. Behaviour can be seen as the
actions or reactions of the individuals when they are subjected to
internal and external stimulus events.
Types of Human Behaviour:
• In psychology, behaviour is analysed in Overt and Covert form. Overt
behaviour is that which is visible such as, walking and eating. The
covert behaviours are those conducts that cannot be seen such as,
thinking and memorising.

6. Studies of Individual Differences:
• Psychologists analysed the mental process and human behaviour with
the help of observation, recording, and understanding how individuals
interact with themselves, others, and with the environments.
• To have this, the differences and similarities among the individual are
analysed by psychologists that can assist them to analyse and estimate
the behaviour with the help of scientific tools, processes, and
principles to verify their hypotheses.
• With the help of this research analysis, the traits of individuals,
groups, institutions, nations, organisations are evaluated by
psychologists easily.
• The variations in the people resulting from the cultural differences are
also understood by them.

7. Heredity and Environment:
• The different types of environment and heredity factors are evaluated
by psychologists and the following equation is represented by
psychologist Lewin.
B = √(P, E)
• B = Behaviour
• √(square root) = Function
• P = Person
• E = Environment
Behaviour consists of environment and people. Stimulus situation
(either external or internal) are created by environments and individual
reacts to these situations.

8. Diagnose Therapy:
• Alcoholism and substance abuse or other disorders can be diagnosed
and treated by psychologists and they can also assist the individuals in
modifying their bad habits and behaviour. With the help of
information facilitated by psychologists in clinics can be quite useful
for the people to have better behaviour as a person family member,
friend, and employee, and thus they can exhibit better social and
emotional changes.
Techniques of Counselling:
• The role of school counsellors is also played by psychologists and
various psychological methods can be used by them to assist the
students to improve their learning. Therefore, this can be used as a
method for providing mental health counselling and maladjustment of
people.

9. Positive Science:
• Psychology plays the role of positive science. Different types of laws
and principles that are developed by it are objective, original, and
universal in nature and these can be verified and proved with the help
of various experiments.
• Different types of hypotheses or theories are developed by
psychologists and depending on the different researches, various
estimates are made. With the help of observation, evaluation, and
experimentation, they can analyse, collect different information, and
analyse the conduct of the person.

10. Scope of Psychology
• The scope of psychology can be
analysed in the two different
categories:
1. Operations and Applications
of Psychology:
2. Branches of Psychology:

11. 1. Operations and Applications of
Psychology
Psychology has an unlimited area of operations and applications. The conduct
of all organisms is being analysed, detailed, and explained by psychology.
This is also useful in the various streams of psychology. The main focus of
psychology is to analyse the various dimensions of human behaviour. These
are:
i) Human Growth and Development: When it comes to this dimension of
human behaviour, the main focus area of psychology is on the analysis of
human development and growth in various dimensions such as, cognitive,
moral, physical, etc. The growth patterns of the person and the various rules
that manage the growth and development are monitored by it.

12. ii) Learning: The focus of psychology shifts towards laws, principles, and
learning theories after understanding the learner and learning experience. The
different aspects that are related to the learning activities are remembering,
forgetting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and reasoning, problem-
solving, transfer of learning, different methods and modes of effective
learning, and so on.
iii) Measurement and Evaluation: It is easy to measure and evaluate
with the help of psychology. It also assists in severe handling of the main
issues related to the measurements in an easy-to-read and easy-to- understand
manner. It also prepares the readers to become independent users of test
information. This is done by managing different issues related to the
measurements, explaining the issues and resolving these issues, performing
the research in a wide area of sources and facilitating the help in finding,
evaluating, and combining the information.

13. iv) Personality and Adjustment: Psychology is focused on the
personality and adjustment of a person with their environment. It is a
well-known fact that different persons have different personalities. The
individual personality will decide their adjustment to the environment
as there will be a difference among the individuals as per various types
of children (extraordinary children).
v) Guidance and Counselling: This is quite valid particularly in the
view of the quite trivial and problematic events that are to be witnessed
by the person in the fast-developing world. With the help of developing
new principles and practical tools that are quite helpful for facilitating
effective direction and counselling, psychology has provided the way
out.

14. 2. Branches
of
Psychology
There is a number of fields and streams of
psychology and there are numerous
psychologists who have expertise in them.
The various roles of psychologists are
given below:
i) Educational and School Psychology:
Educational psychologists are the ones who
operate in the educational organisations,
perform psychological evaluation and their
interpretation. Thus, they provide help to
the students to deal with the emotional and
social adjustment issues and the issues
encountered while learning. They are also
quite helpful for the school management in
policy formation.

15. • They are also involved in parent-teacher meetings and therefore
ensure proper interaction between the teachers, parents, and
administrators and provide guidance for the comprehensive
development of the student.
ii) Clinical and Counselling Psychology:
• This is the stream of psychology that mainly deals with individuals
who are facing some sort of abnormality. They take care of the main
reasons, symptoms, and syndromes, counselling, description, and
providing cures for these human behaviour abnormalities. Hospital
and private clinics both provide opportunities to clinical and
counselling branches.
• For identifying the issues of the patients, different types of interviews
and psychological tests are conducted by counselling psychologists.

16. • The different types of treatment and rehabilitation are provided by
them. Both vocational and emotional rehabilitations are provided by
counselling psychologists and thus they are helpful to the patients to
select the right career and manage the new and complex issues of the
life.
iii) Organisational or Industrial Psychology:
• This is the stream in which the issues of the executives and manpower
of the organisations are managed by psychologists. The different types
of consultancy services are provided by them along with conducting
the skill training programmes so that efficiency and effectiveness can
be enhanced.

17. iv) Cognitive Psychology:
• The main focus of this field is on analysing the mental process that is
related to the acquisition, storage, manipulation and transformation of
information which is obtained from the environment. Attention,
sensation, perception, learning, memory, reasoning, problem-solving,
decision-making, creative thinking, learning a new language, etc., are
the different types of cognitive processes.
v) Biological Psychology:
• This is the branch that mainly manages the effect of the brain and
nervous system on human behaviour. Neuropsychology is that branch
of biological psychology that mainly analyse the effect of
neurotransmitters or chemical substances, which are released at the
synapse of a neuron on mental functions.

18. vi) Developmental Psychology:
• The analysis of the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes
resulting in the various ages ranging from a child till adolescence is
done in developmental psychology.
vii) Social Psychology:
• This mainly deals with the student's behaviour towards teachers,
parents, and main adults related to their lives, interpersonal relations,
altruism, prejudice; following and obeying the authorities, jealousy,
and envy, verbal and physical aggression, motivation, inter-group
relations such as, cooperation and competition.

19. viii) Cross-Cultural and Cultural Psychology:
• The effect of culture on thought, emotion, and behaviour is mainly
analysed by Cross-cultural and Cultural psychologists.
ix) Environmental Psychology:
• The analysis of the various factors such as, temperature, humidity,
pollution, over-population, and natural disasters on human behaviour
is done by environmental psychologists.

20. Importance of Psychology in Nursing
• Nurses share close personal relationship with the various patients. Having an
understanding of human behaviour and mental activity and emotional
reactions related to physical illness is quite important for them. In order to
have a better analysis of the requirement of psychology in nursing, the various
elements are discussed below:
1) Understating the Mind-Body Relationship: The association between
physiological and mental processes can be understood with the help of
psychology. It is important for nurses to concentrate on the behaviour of a
person more specifically from a neuroscience aspect. The main focus of the
neuroscience perspective is to have a better understanding and evaluation of
the various problems related to the relationship between the physical and
psychological elements of the activities which are termed as mind-body
problems. For example, the immune system of the patient can be changed by
the extended stress that will make them more prone to diseases. Similarly,
any change in body chemistry can have a major effect on behaviour and
emotions.

21. 2) Enable to Understand One's Self:
• Psychology is not only related to having better understanding of the
behaviour of the patients but it also entails the understanding of the
self-behaviour of the nurses. Self-awareness can be seen as a
conscious activity where the focus remains on analysing ourselves.
Once we know ourselves will provide insight into what can and
cannot be accepted by us by others in our lives. This will be quite
helpful in associating with others. It indicates that nurses will be
assisted by having the insight of psychology to have a better
understanding of their behaviour. This will also enable them to
manage their behaviours and emotions and to obtain self- discipline in
their job.

22. 3) Understanding Individual Differences:
• With the help of psychology; the nurses can have a better understanding of
the individual differences in human behaviour and they can know how to
interact with the patients with the help of developmental psychology. For
example, a greater level of anxiety towards medical treatment is shown by
elderly patients than young persons. Therefore, the nurse-patient
relationship can be enhanced by psychology, because of which there can be
an open interaction and communication between them and the patients can
convey their special needs to the nurses.
4) To Deal with Mentally Disturbed Patients:
• Different types of abnormal behaviour trends of the patients can be
understood by the nurses by having insight about the abnormal psychology
and they can manage them more effectively by using the principles of
psychology and determining the level of abnormality. The nurses who are
interested in psychiatric nursing can gain a lot from it.

23. 5) To Enable Nurses to make Better Adjustments:
• Psychology helps in understanding the different dimensions of human
behaviour. Self-awareness of an individual can be improved with the help
of knowledge of psychology. This helps in making effective
accommodations in the interpersonal relations and the environment. It is
helpful in enhancing the healthy relationship with other individuals such as,
doctors and nurses.
6) To Provide Effective Counselling:
• Counselling is seen as an interactive activity in which there is a requirement
for psychological assistance for the hospitalised patient and also for the
community health service. During the community visits, the role of a
counsellor can be played by the nurses along with the counselling for the in
patient's requirements. With the help of psychology, the nurses will be able
to provide effective counselling to emotionally disturbed patients.

24. Methods of Psychology
In order to perform the scientific studies,
a number of methods is present in
psychology which are discussed below:
1. Introspection:
2. Observation:
3. Experimental:
4. Interview:
5. Questionnaire:
6. Case study:

25. 1) Introspection:
• Introspection is one of the oldest methods in a psychology study. This
can be seen as the activity in which the people or the subjects are
asked to respond to different personal mental processes or experiences
and elaborate their own mental health and state of the mind to perform
the psychological experiments.
2) Observation:
• The observation is used by the researchers to collect the data when it
is used as a formulated research objective. It will be planned
systematically and recorded and several checks and controls are
implemented for reliability and validity. In this method, the
investigator can use direct observation to collect the information
without enquiring anything from the respondent.

26. 3) Experimental:
• The behaviour of organisms are analysed objectively and scientifically
in this method with the use of experiments. Behaviourists such as
Thorndike, Pavlov, and Skinner are quite famous for the use of
comprehensive experimental methods for analysing the behaviour of
the animal and implementing these principles on humans.
• A systematic method that is called experiment design is used in these
experimental methods. Some vital guidelines are provided by the
experimental design to the researchers to perform the research
systematically.

27. 4) Interview:
• One of the essential methods of data collection is interviewing. This
can be defined as a two-way interaction that is being carried out
between the informant and investigator. It is carried out to collect the
information which is important for a certain study.
• The interviews can also be performed using methods such as,
telephone, internet, and video conferencing. The main objective for
performing the interview is to have a better analysis of different types
of personal traits such as, values, attitudes, preferences, and interests.

28. 5) Questionnaire:
• A questionnaire includes several questions that are to be responded by a
person. Both close-ended and open-ended forms of the questionnaire can be
used. When it comes to close-ended questions, there will be a limited
number of options given to the person and he has to select one of these that
can represent his or her view. In the case of open-ended questions, the
individual can give any type of response as per his or her will.
6) Case Study:
• When it comes to the psychological inquiry, there is unique importance and
significance of the case study method. This is the method in which the
analysis of the person is done along with the experience in different walks
of life. It addresses the interactional trends of the person with other
important people and with his own experiences in the different real-life
events.

29. Relationship of Psychology with other
Social Science
The relationship between psychology and behavioural science, physical
sciences, biological sciences, medical sciences, and various other
streams have been highlighted by Parameswaran and Beena. The details
of psychology with some of the social sciences stream have been given
below:
• The mother of all the behavioural or social sciences has been
considered as Anthropology. In this, the main focus remains on the
study of customs, cultures, rituals and the different practices carried
on by the unique groups of individuals and try to have the
understanding of the difference between them.

30. • Several factors have been explained by anthropologists who provide
help in having the understanding of similarity or commonalities in the
different members of a certain group and also highlight the differences
among these groups. The manner in which the people of a certain
community or a certain country behave in a certain manner has been
explained by different researchers in anthropology. These findings
have really contributed a lot to psychology.
• One of the other important disciplines of social science is sociology. It
deals with the social structure of the societies into the different groups
of families, caste, nation, and so on. The differences in group
formation in various societies are analysed by sociologists and they
also examine their roles in social life. It is quite evident that the
behaviour is majorly influenced by these elements.

31. Elements of Relationship of Psychology
with other Social Science
• Psychology and Economics
• Psychology and Political Science
• Psychology and Education
• Psychology and Biology
• Psychology and Physical science
• Psychology and Medical Science

32. Psychology and Economics
• The analysis of the economic structure of societies such as,
expenditure, income, the effect of economic organisation, and so on is
done in economics. The majority of human behaviour can be
characterised as economic behaviour. The effect of psychological
elements on economic behaviour has been analysed in economic
theories for a long time. The theory of economic utilitarianism is
proposed by Mill and Bentham.
• In fact, the behaviour of individuals has been influenced by overall
societal economic structure and different types of economic factors
such as, facilities, and so on. A lot of inclination has been shown by
psychologists in understanding the effect of economic factors such as,
income in behavioural development. Psychologists analysed the effect
of poverty and economic deficiency on behaviour formation.

33. Psychology and Political Science
• They explained a well-known 'middle-class child' and his conduct
such as, high anxiety, ambitiousness, and so on. Therefore, there is a
close association between economics and psychology.
• Political science has seen a lot of development in recent years. The
main focus of political science remains in political institutions,
organisations, and the activities of the government. In recent times,
psychology and political science have been connected quite closely.
Initiatives were made to have a better understanding of the effect of
the political system on the behaviour and conduct of the individuals. A
lot of research has been conducted by psychologists on the
phenomenon of 'authoritarianism' and they attempted to explain it as
an outcome of a specific type of political setup.

34. Psychology and Education
• Education is one of the oldest fields of science that has been
connected with psychology. The area of education mainly highlights
the development of powerful methods and processes for spreading the
knowledge and skills that can be quite helpful for individuals to be
successful and happy and have greater social productivity. In order to
fulfil these objectives, the psychological elements such as, the nature
of learning activities, the skills of the people, their requirements, and
suitable methods of teaching were used by the educators along with
various other factors.

35. • A lot of contribution was made by the psychologists with the
development of a number of tests that were quite helpful for the
educators to determine the skills of the students, their interests and to
select the right level of education and situations. In order to motivate
the students for having improved learning, the role of psychological
theories of motivation has been quite important. In the development of
different teaching methods, and important teaching tools, and so on, a
major contribution was made by the researchers in the psychology of
perception, learning, and communication. Thus, it is quite evident that
there is a very close relationship between education and psychology.

36. Psychology and Biology
• Psychology mainly deals with experience and behaviour. In fact, it is
not possible to define the experience appropriately in the absence of
concomitant physiological processes. The mind is affected by the
environment through sense organs and with the muscles, a reaction is
resulted by the mind. The sense-organs and muscles are the parts of
human body organs. Thus, there is a close relationship between mental
activities and bodily processes.
• The majority of psychologists have defined mental processes as the
activity of life. These can be used as a mode of having better
accommodation of the psycho- physical organism to the external
environment. Psychology is also treated from the viewpoint of biology
by many modern psychologists.

37. Psychology and the Physical Sciences
• Psychological science and biological science are closely connected to
each other. With the help of some fundamental concepts of biological
science, it is possible to have a better understanding of the behaviour
and experience of a person.
• The area of psychology is also affected by the physical sciences such
as, physics and chemistry. In reality, physics experiments were in the
centre of the earlier modelling of experiments in psychology. Because
of the relationship between psychology and physics, psychophysics
emerged as a field of study of psychology.

38. • A great deal of changes in psychological thinking has been initiated by
the advancement in quantum-physics, magnetic field theories, etc.
Psychology is also seen to be influenced by engineering sciences,
specifically cybernetics and information theory. These advancements
have led to the development of modern computers. At present, a lot of
efforts have been made by psychologists to establish a relationship
between human conduct and computers especially in the fields such
as, thinking, memory, learning, decision-making, etc. Thus there is a
very close relationship between psychology and physical science.a

39. Psychology and the Medical Sciences
• The factors behind the dysfunctioning or malfunctioning of the body
system are analysed in medical science. In reality, medical sciences
are part of biological sciences. A lot of knowledge has been gained
due to medical science development about the formation and
functionality of the brain, nervous system, and endocrine glands,
which are quite vital for the analysis of the behaviour. The analysis of
radical behaviour has been supported greatly by medical science.

40. • Understanding and cure of human behaviour are majorly contributed
by them as they not only focused on developing the cure for physical
illnesses but also in the psychological abnormalities. The contribution
of medical science has been quite significant in the better growth of
the areas related to abnormal/ clinical psychology and psychodynamic
methods. Some of the very important information was derived by the
medical doctors when they interacted with the people who were
mentally ill or emotionally troubled.

41. Relation between Psychology and Health
• Health psychologists are the ones who try to have a better
understanding of the effect of biological, behavioural, and social
factors on health and illness. The knowledge of psychology is being
employed by health psychologists to improve the common welfare
and to know the physical diseases. Health psychologists operate with
several other healthcare experts like physicians, dentists, nurses,
physician's assistants, dieticians, social workers, pharmacists, physical
and occupational therapists, and chaplains for performing the research
and facilitating the clinical evaluation and treatment facilities.