Psychology as a science. History of the development of psychology
1.1. Psychology as a science, object and subject of psychology
Currently psychology
(from ancient Greek soul; knowledge) is defined as
- “the science of the patterns of development and functioning of the psyche as a special form of life activity” [, P. 274];
- a field of scientific knowledge that studies the patterns of emergence, formation and development of mental processes, states and properties of humans and animals;
- “a certain ordered view of events related to the internal, mental, mental, spiritual life of a person, as well as to the field of human (and animal) behavior” [, P. 10].
The immediate goal of psychological research
is the study of the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, as well as the physiological and neurobiological processes underlying cognitive activity and behavior of people.
The object of psychology as a science in the broad sense is man.
Object
Psychology is the psyche,
the subject
is the basic laws of the generation and functioning of mental reality.
Psyche
- This
- “a systemic property of highly organized matter, which consists in the subject’s active reflection of the objective world, in his construction of a picture of the world that is inalienable from him and self-regulation on this basis of his behavior and activities” [, P. 265];
- “a general concept denoting the totality of all mental phenomena” [, P.34].
At different stages of development of psychological knowledge as a subject of psychology
various phenomena were considered: the soul, phenomena of consciousness, the direct experience of the subject, the unconscious, behavior, etc. (Fig. 1.1).
Subject of psychology
–
- “the natural connections of the subject with the natural and sociocultural world, imprinted in the system of sensory and mental images of this world, motives prompting action, as well as in the actions themselves, experiences of their relationships to other people and to themselves, in the properties of the individual as the core of this system” ( A.V. Petrovsky, [, P. 6]);
- “facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche as a reflection of reality in the brain, on the basis and with the help of which behavior and activities that have a personal character in a person are controlled” [, P.7];
- concrete facts of mental life and mental phenomena.
Rice.
1.1. Subject of psychology
Psychic phenomena
– subjective experiences or elements of the subject’s internal experience.
There are four groups of mental phenomena:
processes, states, properties and formations.
Mental process
– an act of mental activity that has an object of reflection and a regulatory function. Mental processes act as primary regulators of behavior.
Psychic reflection
– the process of forming an image of the conditions in which some activity is carried out.
Rice.
1.2. Types of mental processes
Mental condition
(English mental state) – “an internal holistic characteristic of the individual psyche, relatively unchanged over time” [, P.92].
Mental states are formed on the basis of mental processes and characterize the state of the psyche as a whole. In Fig. 1.3 presents classifications of types of mental states on various grounds.
Rice.
1.3. Types of mental states
Mental properties
– “individual psychological characteristics that determine the constant ways a person interacts with the world” [, P.92]. They are characterized by stability and constancy, determine the uniqueness of a person and are the basis of his personality (examples of properties: temperament, character, personal abilities).
Psychic formations
– the result of the development of the human psyche; they are the result of his acquisition of life and professional experience. Examples of mental formations: knowledge, competencies, habits, beliefs, values.
Mental processes, states and properties form the main conceptual “framework” of modern psychological science.
Basic psychological concepts.
The first systematic course in psychology was created by the German psychiatrist Emil Kalperin in 1883. Since then, many schools and concepts have emerged within psychological science that try to explain certain mental phenomena.
Psychoanalysis or Freudianism.
The most popular concept known outside of psychological science. Named after its founder, Sigmund Freud, who was the first to divide three levels of mental life: consciousness (Ego or I), preconscious (super-I), unconscious (It or libido). Gradually, psychoanalysis was enriched with new ideas, theories, and psychoanalytic concepts.
Take the Freud test
Logotherapy.
The idea of finding the meaning of life is based on the idea of the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. In this regard, the category of the meaning of life is contrasted with the eternal search for pleasure, which was promoted by Freud.
Gestalt psychology.
It arose thanks to the efforts of German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Koffka as an attempt to build a psychological theory by analogy with physics. The term “Gestalt” itself denotes holistic formations of consciousness, and the main explanatory principle of Gestalt psychology is the principle of integrity.
Humanistic psychology.
The direction was formed within the framework of the humanistic approach. Its most prominent representatives are A. Maslow and K. Rogers. According to humanistic theory, the main goal of human existence is self-actualization, self-realization, and continuous self-development. Spiritual (Christian) psychology can be considered a branch of the humanistic concept.
Cognitivism.
The word “cognitive” is translated from Latin as “to know.” The main representatives of the movement are George Kelly and Aron Beck, who said: “human feelings and actions are determined by thinking.” Proponents of the concept defend the opinion that a person is not a machine that blindly reacts to changes in the external world, but a thinking person, capable of analyzing information, his actions and behavior, making comparisons, and solving problems.
Behaviorism.
The founder of behaviorism (translated as “behavior”) is the American psychologist John Watson, who developed the idea of the relationship between behavior, stimulus and transmitting reaction. The motto of behaviorism is “psychology is the science of behavior,” and consciousness is not studied here because it does not have behavioral indicators.
Transpersonal (transpersonal).
Translated, it means “the soul on the other side of the mask.” Explores human spirituality, transpersonal experiences in all forms and manifestations, as well as parapsychological phenomena, karmic dynamics, unresolved psychotraumas of birth. Transpersonal techniques focus on unusual states of consciousness - intuition, meditative trance, hypnosis, mediumship. The founder of the direction and inventor of the main technique for “immersion into oneself” (holotropic breathing) is S. Grof.
Take the intuition test
Interactive.
The name of the direction is translated as “interaction” - “social interaction”. The purpose of the direction is to study the laws of interaction: harmonious, positive, disharmonious, conflict. The founder of the interactive concept is George Mead, and its popularizer is Eric Berne.
Why study psychology?
There is no clear answer to this question. Or rather, everyone has their own answer:
- Because psychology affects all key aspects of life: everyday life, work, partnership, education, business, self-realization.
- Because we live among people and want to understand their motives, take into account the peculiarities of their psyche, predict decisions, and navigate other people’s characters.
- Because childhood grievances interfere with life, even if we don’t remember them.
- To manage your inner resources, live life to the fullest.
- To motivate yourself at the right time or notice fatigue in time and rest.
- To understand why it hurts somewhere inside or why the “soul hurts.”
- To understand why some people evoke sympathy, while others evoke aggression or rejection.
- To recognize, but not succumb to other people's manipulations.
- To develop your memory, thinking, creativity voluntarily, and not because “it’s customary.”
- To understand why previous relationships fell apart, to build new, but stronger ones.
- To learn to understand your children or parents, regardless of the age difference.
- Just for myself.
Where to start studying?
First of all, one should not confuse academic psychologists and practicing psychologists. Most scientific books are written in a dry, rather difficult to understand language with scientific terms. Therefore, it will be difficult to learn psychology “for yourself” from the works of Freud or Jung. But there are also a lot of books on popular psychology that you won’t be able to study at the same time. Therefore, first you need to ask yourself a question: what motivates me, what is most important to me?
General outlook.
- Paul Kleinman, Psychology: People, Concepts, Experiments.
- D. Goleman “Emotional Intelligence.”
- D. Halliman “Why We Make Wrong: Thinking Traps.”
Child psychology.
- Yu. Gippenreiter “The most important book for parents.”
- Archpriest Fyodor Borodin “Create love. How to raise a happy child."
Psychology of creativity.
- Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist.
- Barbara Sher "What to Dream About."
Psychology of success.
- K. McGonikal “Willpower: develop and strengthen.”
- Ray Dalio "Principles".
- Chin-Ning Chu "Stone Face, Black Heart"
Methods of psychology.
Almost all methods of psychology can be combined into two groups:
- Empirical. Based on the collection, recording, and interpretation of facts. They use methods of mathematical statistics that allow them to work with large volumes of data and build patterns.
- Experimental. Based on modeling situations of interaction between the individual and the environment, where the necessary psychological reactions could be observed. These are the so-called social experiments (Stanford prison experiment, M. Sheriff's cave of robbers, Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment).
The main object of psychological research is human psychology, therefore science uses the same research methods that can be applied in everyday life:
- Observation is a descriptive method that involves purposefully perceiving and describing a person.
- An experiment is a specially conducted psychological experience that helps to gain new knowledge about the subject.
- Self-observation is a purposeful and meaningful observation of one’s emotions, reactions, desires, motives, which should not develop into self-digging.
- An interview is an oral or written conversation that helps clarify and identify a range of problems that are not observable.
- A survey is a short-term written or oral test with pre-formulated questions that helps assess and identify individual psychological differences, skills, and abilities.
- Testing is the study, identification, assessment of certain psychological qualities after passing specially prepared tests.
- Biographical research is a method in which a person’s life path is studied, diagnosed, corrected, and predicted.
As a rule, in order to provide the psychologist with the most accurate and comprehensive psychological portrait of the interlocutor, methods are combined for each specific case. For example, tests and interviews may be used in hiring. During a psychotherapy session, a psychologist can use observation and experimentation, and ask the client to do his homework - to observe himself.
