Foundations of Psychology

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, psychology is useful in many ways.

All sciences originally descended from philosophy and over the centuries the special sciences gradually became independent of this discipline, with Psychology being one of the last of the special sciences to separate from the parent during the 19th century (Banyard, Davies, Normal & Winder, 2010). The questions and ideas in Psychology have been of interest since the time of the ancient Greeks, where philosophers inquired into how human beings know the world. Plato asked questions about human motivation (“Why do we act as we do?”) and Aristotle attempted to structure the human soul according to the five senses, imagination, common sense and memory (Leahey, 2004), which loosely reflect the study of perception and cognition in present day psychology. Although the conceptual foundations of psychology are to be found in philosophy, the inspiration for the creation of an independent science of psychology came from biology. The founders of psychology took a path to the mind through physiology, while a bigger influence came from a younger branch of biology- evolution- which through a shift in focus from the contents of the mind to the function of the mind, eventually gave rise to the different fields existing in psychology today such as psychobiology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology and more recently evolutionary psychology.

Psychology is defined by Merriam-Webster, as the science of mind and behavior. It is a study of how an individual's psyche can be created, developed, altered or destroyed. Carol Gilligan, a Harvard Graduate School professor, for many years has analyzed the psychological theory and development, specifically in a book entitled In A Different Voice.

Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior. This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior. Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual’s behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment,

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

The psychodynamic approach founded by Sigmund Freud was a lot of our behavior, is determined by unconscious thoughts, memories. Freud developed the first complete theory of mind and is the founder of a series of techniques called psychoanalysis. This aims to explore the unconscious mind by using techniques, such as free association, dream interpretation etc. and then and be used treat abnormal behavior. Psychodynamic psychology ignores the aspects of science and instead focuses on trying to get inside the head of individuals to make logic of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world. (McLeod, 2007). Freud’s theories

A person’s physical body plays a vital role in how they behave. The nervous system carries signals to and from the brain, the spinal cord, glands, and muscles. Our nerve endings also are stimuli receptors; transmit a signal to the brain. When this happens it causes neurons inside the brain to be activated which produces a reaction. This reaction can be a muscle to contract or relax, or it might be to tell a gland to produce adrenalin it stressed or scared.

1. Explain how a person committed to each of the following contemporary perspectives would explain human aggression.

* Refers to the private thoughts, emotions, feelings, and motives that other people can not directly observe.

Psychology is the science behind the mind; the answer to every question one can have on the human mind and those inhabiting a brain. Psychology is simply a course of answers that is proved by rock solid evidence and factual research. By taking this class, I am gaining answers for the various questions I have asked. Simply put, I desire to have the knowledge others don’t even consider and sometimes, even lack. Such as why we act the way we do and what causes those reactions to take place. Answers to such questions reside in the field of psychology, the solution to all our questions regarding ourselves.

Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion, and behavior. Applications of psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, self-help, ergonomics, and many other areas affecting health and daily life.

Psychology is the study of the science of the mind and the resulting behaviour. Looking to understand and explain to an extent how we think, act and feel. There are many branches of psychology looking at treatments of mental health issues, studying a variety of issues that may impact our health and daily life’s.

In the future, I ultimately intend to be a psychologist. With being a psychologist, I am taking on the responsibility on how to lead people into having an overall better life and promote positive change for them. Psychologists often specialize in studying and examining the brain and human behavior. That being said, psychology is a very important branch of science that attempts to help us stay sane!

Psychology is a study of mind and behavior. Psychological research is mostly focused on the relationship between thought, behavior and emotion; how one influences the other and what are the consequences of such interaction. Put simply, psychology is a field associated with the drive to understand the way human mind works. The topic is slightly enigmatic, but at the same time very challenging and complicated. Where representatives of the exact sciences depend on data, facts and figures, psychologists tend to rely on behavior. Seeing that the majority of work done by psychologists is

When psychology was first established as a science it separated from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began. The first school of thought, structuralism, was advocated by the founder of the first psychology lab, Wilhelm Wundt. Almost immediately, other theories began to emerge and vie for dominance in psychology. The following are some of the major thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology: Structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism: