Introduction and Roots of Psychology
Introduction and Roots of Psychology
Introduction and Roots of Psychology
Amna Arif
Introduction to psychology
Psychology is the scientific studies of behavior and mental processes. Humans and many other creatures included in the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Scientific Study: o Systematic o Well-Organized o Objective o Based on Facts and Figures
Introduction to psychology
1. Theoretical framework
2. Testable Hypotheses
3. Empirical evidence
Introduction to psychology
Behavior: Physical actions that are directly observable, such as reading, writing, playing and smiling.
Mental Processes Describe our personal experiences that cannot be observed directly, for instance, thoughts, feelings, perception, memory and problem solving.
Goals of Psychology
o Description
o Prediction
o Modification o Improvement of the lifestyle
also explores o their feelings, o thoughts, o perceptions, o reasoning, (logic, way of thinking), o memory o biological activities that keep their bodies functioning. (Biopsychology, physiological psychology).
Significance of Psychology
following ways,
More effective advertising Better trained workers Improved management techniques Better performing workers Higher quality output A more scientific approach to all of this
Psychology of Employees
Psychology is the study of the mind and its
significant for business leaders to know a little something about the psychology of their employees or potential employees. (how to motivate them, whether or not theyre right for the job...etc) some people are motivated by money while others need a challenge.
organization
Understanding the bases of decisions affecting the relationships
among organizations
person will equipped with relevant information about human behavior when faced with human problems in his field.
Benefits of studying Psychology for Students of Business and other fields Psychology has made to the solution of many human
problems encountered by people working in different fields. Better management of human resource
Improved methods of personnel selection
Historical Background
Nativist (nature) vs Empiricist (nuture)
Are a persons characteristics mostly inborn or
learned? Is your social behavior better explained by the presence of enduring inner traits or by the temporary demands of external situations? Are your intelligence and personality influenced more by your genes or by your experience?
Pre-Scientific Period i) Greek period ii) Middle Ages iii) Islamic Period
Pre-Scientific Period
Greek Philosophers
1. Hippocrates o father of medicine o biological malfunctions rather then demons cause
mental illness. o personality was made up of four temperaments and these temperaments were influenced by the presence of humors or fluids in the body
o o o o
Phlegmexcess of phlegmlethargy Black Bileoverabundancecause depression Bloodexcesssanguine (cheerful, confident, optimistic) Yellow bileexcessquick, dominant, strong, stubborn personality
Greek Philosophers
2. Plato o He postulated the theory of mind-body dualism (the claim that the mind and the body (which includes the brain) are independent. 3. Aristotle o Rejected the Plato theory and suggested that mind is a function of the body itself just as vision is a function of the eye.
assessed, we come to know that these are based on the views of Islamic philosophers and thinkers.
Some well-known Muslim Philosophers include:
Ibn-Sina Imam Ghazali
Scientific Period
Scientific Period
During sixteen and seventeen centuries, philosophers and
scientists proposed new theories in the light of their observation and experiments. This period may be divided into two sub periods:
i) Renaissance period ii) Modern Period
i) Renaissance Period
Renaissance means rebirth
1. Francis Bacon (1564-1642) Founder of modern science. He proposed that scientific study must be purely empiricalnot guided by theory at all. 2. Rene Descartes and John Locke (1596-1650) Lock: mind is a blank slate at birth and that knowledge comes in through the senses. Descartes: knowledge is not dependent on sense experience
i) Renaissance Period
3. Charles Darwin
He published his book The Origin of Species, in
animals and people show behavior that is adaptive to the environment and helpful to their survival.