Introduction to Psychology and Sociology

Psychology and Overall Picture

• Psychology is one of the most demanded subjects in modern study. All the recognized universities study psychology. The reason for this demand is studies about the human being in the world.
• There are other subjects which study human beings, such as medicine and sociology. However, comparing to those subjects, psychology has a specialty with a focus on human behavior.
• Medicine investigates and treats individual patients. Doctors investigate and give doctors focus on the human body and body illnesses.
• Psychology studies individual persons. But there is a difference. Doctors focus on body illness. The psychologist studies an individual person's behavior.
• Behavior includes:
• Attitude
• Values
• Beliefs
• Perception

Comparing Psychology to Sociology

• Sociologists also study attitude, values, behavior, and perception.
• However, a person's behavior belongs to society while a person's attitudes, values, and beliefs are a personal belief.
• For example, a sociologist might study prostitutes and their communities. Psychology studies individual prostitutes.

How to Define Psychology

• 2600 years ago, there was knowledge about psychology. But it was established as a subject very later in the century.
• When psychology was established, it was separated from other natural and social sciences.
• Psychology had a long struggle to clarify its scope.
• Psychology, 2600 years later, included intellectual capabilities, reasoning, memory and logical thinking.

History of Psychology development

• After several years, William James, an American Psychologist, developed a definition for psychology.
• Psychology studies the mental life of a person, and this includes perception, intelligence, memory, and personality.

The Development of Psychology (cont.)

• J. B. Watson argued that the central concept in psychology's definition was the mind. But the mind cannot be tested scientifically.
• So, J.B. Watson proposed that psychology should be the study of behavior using scientific experiments.
• All the mental status can be expressed as behaviors.

More on Psychology

• Cognition is considered as a new concept introduced as a behavior concept, between the mind and behavior.
• The scope of science was changed to new laboratory tools.
• Psychology discovered that behaviorism was not accurate when compared to earlier thoughts.
• Freud and his followers didn't stop their studies about the mind.
• The mind couldn't be chased away from psychology and psychology had to accept both the mind and behaviors as things that could not be separated. These were not used in everyday life today.

To Define Psychology

• Two types of behaviors: Overt and Covert.
• Overt behaviors are the observable behaviors,
• Covert behaviors are the hidden behaviors

Aspects of Psychology

• Psychology represents two aspects: Mind and Behaviour..
• Mind can't explain the mystic and hidden aspects
• Examples: Hypnosis, counseling, leadership.
• The behavior represents the scientific observable aspects of psychology

Why is Psychology Important?

• Psychology in the modern world is important because, although modern science and technology are developed, the knowledge of an individual person is still primitive.
• Psychology's knowledge is necessary in understanding how people behave, whether the behavior is social or personal.

Psychology of Child

• Child psychology studies children's psychology in a separate sphere of study.
• Child psychology studies many categories, like education, medicine, child health, art and music, and behavior.
• Children's behavior and thinking are different from the behavior and thinking of adults.

Educational Psychology

• Educational psychology studies the whole process of education and the learning process. It is a psychological study of education.

Industrial Psychology

• The behaviors of officers and workers in factories are studied.
• Some examples of psychology are areas like sports psychology.

Criminal Psychology

• Criminal psychology studies the mentality and criminal behaviors of criminals.
• Criminal psychology examines the criminal's behavior and other habits.

Abnormal Behaviors

• Mental illness conditions in mental hospitals are categorized as abnormal behaviors.
• Mental disorders are not really “sick,” and only their behavior and thoughts become confusing.
• Mental disturbances occur when goals, plans, and tasks of life are disturbed.
• Examples: Failure on exams, job loss, breaking up

Explore the fundamental concepts of psychology and sociology in this quiz. Understand the differences between the two fields, focusing on behavior, attitudes, and societal influences. This overview highlights the unique aspects of psychological studies compared to sociological approaches.