Psychology Class 11 Chapter 1: Concepts

Psychology is defined formally as a science that studies mental processes, experiences

and behaviours in different contexts. We will further understand the meaning of mental
processes, behaviours and experiences in detail

 Mental Processes are usually used when we think or to solve a problem, to

know or remember something. One level at which these mental processes are
reflected in brain activity. Unlike the brain, our mind does not have a physical
structure or a definite location.
 Experiences are subjective in nature which are studied by psychologists. One
important thing about experiences is that we cannot directly observe or know
someone else’s experience, only the experiencing person can be aware or
conscious of her or his experiences.
 Behaviours are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in.
Behaviours may be simple or complex, short or enduring. Some behaviours are
overt which means they can be outwardly seen or sensed by an observer
whereas some behaviours are covert which means that they cannot be easily
spotted and seen by other people

Psychology as a Discipline
Psychology is a discipline that studies about human behaviour, mental processes,
experiences in different contexts:

 It makes us understand how our mind works and how certain mental processes
result in a specific type of behaviour.
 Psychology as a Discipline today has two parallel streams namely-
o Natural Science
o Social Science

Psychology as a Natural Science

Psychology as a Natural Science largely focuses on biological principles to explain
human behaviour.

 It assumes that all behavioural phenomena have causes which can be

discovered if we can collect data systematically under controlled conditions.
 The main aim of the researcher is to understand the cause and effect relationship
so that an accurate prediction of the behavioural phenomena can be made.
 Psychologists use hypothetical deductive model to prove their hypothesis
 By the application of this model,many psychologists gave theories on topics like
Motivation, Memory etc.

Psychology as a Social Science

Psychology as a Social Science focuses on how behavioural phenomena can be
explained in terms of interaction that takes place between the person and the socio-
cultural context of which he/she is a part

 Studies human behavior in social context

  Humans are not only impacted by their socio-cultural contexts,they also create
them as well.
 Focuses on humans and communities as social beings in relation to their social
culture and physical environment.

Understanding Mind and Behaviour

It is true that the mind cannot exist without the brain but the mind is a separate entity:

 Earlier it was believed that there is no relationship between mind and body but
now as per various researches in neuroscience prove that there is indeed a
relationship between mind and Behaviour
 A new discipline called Psychoneuroimmunology has emerged in recent times
which primarily explains the significant role of the mind in strengthening our
immune system.

Popular Notions About Psychology

 Common sense does not always equate with Psychological studies
 Common sense is based on hindsight. Psychology as a science looks for
patterns of behaviour which can be predicted and not explained after the
behaviour occurs.
 Common Sense tells us that an individual is not able to perform the best in front
audience but Psychological studies have shown that if you have practiced
well,you may actually perform better than expected because the presence of
others helps in enhancing performance.

The Evolution of Psychology

The evolution of Psychology can be traced way back to 1879 when the first
experimental laboratory was established in Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm Wundt and he
was interested in the study of conscious experience and wanted to analyse building
blocks of the mind. Due to the fact that Psychologists during Wundt’s time started
analysing the structure of the mind through introspection, they were also called
structuralists. Later on, this approach was taken over by a functionalist approach.
Introduced by an American psychologist, William James, the functionalist approach
utilised the study of the human mind instead of focusing on the structure of the mind.

Structuralism
 It was proposed by Wilhelm Wundt and structuralism is considered the oldest
school of psychology.
 Structuralists were interested in the analysis of the human mind and its structure
 They were interested in conscious experience and wanted to study the building
blocks of the mind
 They used the introspection method to study mental processes and experiences

Functionalism
 Functionalism school of psychology was proposed by William James
  They focused on what the mind does and the function of consciousness in
adjustment to the environment
 According to functionalists, Consciousness is an ongoing mental process that
cannot be broken down into parts.

Behaviourism
 This school of psychology was proposed by John B.Watson who viewed
Psychology as a science of behaviour in terms of stimuli and responses.
 Our response to stimulus in the environment are the basic building blocks of our
personality
 Watson emphasized on observable and verifiable response to stimuli and he was
profoundly interested in the study of learning

Gestalt Psychology
 This school of psychology was in contrast to structuralism and it was founded in
Germany by Wertheimer, Kohler and Koffka.
 It primarily focused on perceptual Organization (Organization of what we see)
 As per Gestalt Psychology, we look at the world, our Perceptual experience is
more than its components.
 For example, when we look at a chair. We do not see four wooden legs but we
recognise it completely as a table

Psychoanalysis
 It was proposed by Dr Sigmund Freud
 As per this school of psychology, human behaviour is viewed as a dynamic
manifestation of unconscious desires and conflicts about which we are not
completely aware at present.
 Practical implementation of this school of psychology helps us to understand and
cure psychological disorders.

Humanistic Perspective
 Humanistic Perspective was proposed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
 It laid emphasis on the free will of human beings and their actions are not
predetermined by any force.
 As per this school of psychology, human beings strive to grow and unleash their
true potential which lies within them.
 All human beings have an innate tendency to attain a state of self-actualization
and the nature of human activities is that they are goal-oriented.

Cognitive Perspective
 It was proposed by Jean Piaget and Vygotsky.
 This approach is considered as a fusion of the Gestalt Approach and
Structuralism
 Lays emphasis on cognition which means thinking, understanding, perceiving,
memorising etc
  They view the human mind as an information processing system just like a
computer and mind receives, processes, transforms, stores and retrieves
information.

Psychology Class 11 Chapter 1: Branches

Various fields of specialization in psychology have emerged over the years which have
been comprehensively elucidated below-

Cognitive Psychology
  It investigates mental processes involved in the acquisition, storage,
manipulation and transformation of information received from the environment
along with its use and communication
 Major cognitive processes are attention, perception, memory, problem solving
and decision-making etc.

Biological Psychology
 Focuses on the relationship between the behavior and physical system, including
the brain and the rest of the nervous system, immune system and genetics

Neuropsychology
 Psychologists and Neuroscientists are working together and studying the role of
neurotransmitters which are responsible for neural communication in different
areas of the brain and associated mental functions.
 Comprehensive research is carried out on people with the normal functioning of
the brain and as well as on people with damaged brains by use of advanced and
recent technologies like EEG, PET etc.

Developmental Psychology
 It studies the physical, social and psychological changes that occur at different
stages and ages over life-span, from conception to old age.

Social Psychology
 This branch of Psychology explores how people are affected by their social
environments, how people think about the world around them and how they try to
impact people around them.
 Topics such as Prosocial behaviour, Attitude Formation, Prejudice are of keen
interest to social Psychologists

Cultural Psychology
 Lays emphasis on the role of culture in attaining a deep understanding of human
behaviour, thought and emotion.
 The main assumption of Cultural Psychology is that human behaviour is not only
a reflection of human-biological potential but also a product of culture.

Environmental Psychology
 It studies the interaction of physical factors such as temperature, humidity,
pollution and natural disasters on human behaviour.
 The influence of the physical arrangement of the workplace on health, the
emotional state is understood in environmental Psychology

Health Psychology
  It lays emphasis on the role of psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, fear
in the development, prevention and treatment of illness
 Areas of keen interest for a health Psychologist are coping with stress, promotion
of health-enhancing factors etc.

Clinical Psychology
 Clinical Psychology deals with the causes, treatment and prevention of some of
the major psychological disorders like anxiety, depression, eating disorders and
chronic substance abuse.

Counselling Psychology
 Counselling Psychology aims to improve everyday functioning by helping people
solve problems of their daily life and effectively cope up with challenging
situations.

Industrial/Organisational Psychology
 This branch of Psychology mainly deals with both the employees and the
organization which have employed them. They are focused on training
employees, improving work conditions and developing selection criteria for
employees.

Educational Psychology
 It lays emphasis on understanding how people of all ages understand and learn
things. Educational Psychologists mainly develop instructional methods and
materials used to train people both in Educational and work settings.

Sports Psychology
 Sports Psychology focuses on the application of Psychological principles to
improve the performance of athletes.

Other Emerging Fields of Psychology

Psychology has always been of multidisciplinary nature and because of this nature of
Psychology, various other fields of Psychology have emerged which are described as
follows-

 Political Psychology
 Aviation Psychology
 Space Psychology
 Forensic Psychology
 Military Psychology
 Community Psychology
 Managerial Psychology
Development of Psychology in India
 Indian philosophical tradition was already known to practice various mental
processes and reflections on human consciousness, self, mind-body relations,
and a variety of mental functions. But when it comes to the modern study of the
human mind, such evolutionary study was highly influenced by the Western
school of thought only.
 The first offical experiment with Modern Psychology in India happened in 1916 at
the Calcutta University where Dr. N.N. Sengupta initiated the first modern
experiments on Psychological fields.
 Departments of Psychology in the Universities of Mysore and Patna were other
early centres of teaching and research in psychology.
 Durganand Sinha in his book ‘Psychology in a Third World Country: The Indian
Experience’ categorises the evolution of Indian Psychology as the pre-
independence phase, and the 1960s phase.

Themes Of Research and Application

Themes that provide Direction to research and application of Psychology are mentioned
as follows-

 Psychology, like other sciences, attempts to develop principles of behaviour and

mental processes.
 Human Behaviour is a function of both the attributes of persons and environment
 Human Behaviour is caused
 Understanding of human behaviour is culturally constructed
 Human Behaviour can be controlled and modified through the application of
psychological principles.

Basic V/s Applied Psychology

 Basic Psychology provides us with theories and principles that form the basis of
application of Psychology
 Applied Psychology provides us with different contexts in which the theories
and principles derived from research can be meaningfully applied.

Psychology And Other Disciplines

Psychology shares its knowledge with literature, art, science, commerce, music etc.
Some of the Major disciplines linked to the field of psychology are discussed below-

Music And Fine Art

Music and Psychology are complementary in nature which means that they go hand in
hand as they help in uplifting mood and productivity at work as well.

Architecture And Engineering

Psychology and Architecture go hand in hand as well. One of the important jobs of an
architect is to provide a physical space that satisfies their client mentally and
aesthetically.

Mass Communication
Mass Communication is related to Psychology as well as the impact of media on the
formation of attitudes on children and their behaviour is a domain where both of these
disciplines come together.

 Other fields which are related to Psychology are mentioned below-

o Law
o Medicine
o Computer Science
o Philosophy
o Education
o Economics

Types of Psychologists At Work

Psychologists work at various human service areas and these are described below-

 Clinical Psychologists mainly deal with patients who suffer from severe
psychological disorders such as Depression, Schizophrenia, Anxiety, Eating
Disorders etc.
 Counselling Psychologists help clients deal with everyday challenges and
interpersonal issues such as career problems, self-esteem issues, Relationship
and family problems etc.
 Organizational Psychologist Helps employees improve upon their overall well-
being along with their productivity and also they focus on making such a kind of
workplace environment which is very enriching for the employees.

Psychology In Everyday life

There is no denial about the fact that Psychology plays a crucial role in our everyday
life.

 Helps in solving our day to day problems in very effective and efficient manner
 Principles and methods of Psychology help us in analysing and understanding
our relationship with others
 Helps us in attaining self-awareness and thus,that helps in improving our
decision-making
 Various methods and techniques of Psychology helps us in improving our
learning and memorising abilities
 Thus, Psychology indeed plays a crucial role in our lives.