Psychology Unit - 1 PDF

# PSYCHOLOGY ## Introduction - The term "psychology" derives from the Greek terms - "psyche," meaning "soul," and - "logos," meaning "study of" - Thus psychology, study of soul. - The word soul was used vaguely and rejected. - Later on, William James used the term "mind," which replaced "s...

# PSYCHOLOGY ## Introduction - The term "psychology" derives from the Greek terms - "psyche," meaning "soul," and - "logos," meaning "study of" - Thus psychology, study of soul. - The word soul was used vaguely and rejected. - Later on, William James used the term "mind," which replaced "soul." - As years went by, the meaning of psychology changed. - Those who studied what was called "mind" found that they could neither see nor understand it. - The influence of physiology made some scientists like Wilhelm Wundt (1892) of Germany define psychology as the study of "consciousness." - The current definition of psychology, as the "systematic study of human and animal behavior," came to be accepted. (1913, John B. Watson). ## Evolution of meaning of psychology - Study of "Soul" - Study of "Mind" - Study of "Conscious Experience" - Study of "Behavior" ## Meaning of Behaviour - Any manifestation (event or action) in life is "activity," and behavior is the collective name of these activities. - Behavior includes: - Motor activities, e.g., walking, swimming, dancing - Cognitive activities, e.g., thinking, reasoning - Affective activities, e.g., feeling happy, sad, angry - So, the behavior refers to entire life activity and experience of all the living organisms. ## Psychology - Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. - According to the American Psychological Association, it is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects behavior. - It aims at explaining the links between the mind and behavior. - Psychology is the investigation of human and animal behavior and of mental and physiological processes associated with the behavior. (Jackson 1976) ## Psychologist study - Psychologists study overt and covert behavior. - **Overt behaviors** are observable behaviors. - **Covert behaviors** include private mental processes that cannot be directly observed or measured. ### Examples of overt behaviour - laughing - walking - eating - gestures - facial expression ### Examples of covert behaviour - Perception - memory - reasoning - thinking - feelings ## Goals of Psychology 1. **Description: Describing Behavior** - What is happening? - (Observe and describe objectively) 2. **Explanation: Explaining behavior** - Why is it happening? - (Trying to understand the reason of behavior) 2. **Prediction: Predicting Behavior** - When, why, and how will the behavior occur in the future? 3. **Control: Changing Behavior** - How can it be changed? - (Stopping or making the behavior happen. Changing its Strength) ***Improving the quality of life***. ## Branches of Psychology ### 1. Educational Psychology - Branch concerned with schools, teaching, educational issues, and student concerns. - Investigates: - Classroom dynamics (ways the people within a class talk and how they act, show their feelings and opinions, and behave as a group) - Teaching styles - Learning - Develops educational tests - Evaluates educational programs. - Investigates all aspects of the educational process: - Curriculum design to techniques of instruction - Devoted to the study of how people learn, including: - Individual difference in learning - Gifted learners - Learning disability ### 2. Social Psychology - Social psychology deals with the group behavior and interrelationships of people with other people (how an individual is influenced by others and how an individual influences others' behavior). - It studies various types of group phenomena, such as: - Public opinion - Attitudes - Beliefs - Behavior. - Emphasizes on all aspects of social behavior, such as: - How we think about and interact with others - For example, social psychologists study: - How we perceive others and - How those perceptions affect our attitude and behavior towards them. ### 3. Developmental Psychology - It explains the growth and development. - It explains human life through the stages of conception to old age. - Conducts research on infant, child, adolescent, and adult development. - Psychologists take an in-depth look at biological growth of the body, cognitive expansion, and emotional maturity. - Developmental psychologists assess and diagnose to treat various issues, such as developmental delays in children. - Some of these delays are common, and a psychologist could diagnose therapy to help the child catch up or just observation to see how the child improves on his or her own. - Developmental psychologists try to understand complex behaviors by studying their beginnings and the orderly ways in which they change with time. - If we can trace the origin and developmental sequence of a certain behavior, we will have a better understanding of it. - Child psychology, the study of children's behavior, consists of a large part of developmental psychology. - Developmental changes also occur in adolescence, adulthood, and old age. So, the study of these changes is also a part of developmental psychology. - A great deal of research has been done on the development of thinking in children. - Progressive and systematic changes take place in their thinking during the first few years of life. - Developmental psychologists are often concerned with children who have behavior problems or psychological disorders, and different methods are used to treat them. ### 4. Child Psychology - Childhood extends from 2 to 12 years. - This is a crucial period in the life. - Future life depends upon development during childhood. - Child psychology focuses on the mental, emotional, and social development of children. - Studies child from the mother's womb to the adolescence stage. - Studies the behavior of children like motor, emotional, social, and language development in children. - Suggest on positive parenting practices. #### Indicators of Child Psychology: - **Motor Skills**: The child's ability to move, crawl, or walk. Normally, this is how he starts. - **Cognitive**: This means how children think, explore, and figure things out. It involves children acquiring skills to know the world around them. - **Self-help**: A child acquires different abilities at stages of development, such as feeding, using the bathroom, and dressing independently. - **Social & Emotional Expressiveness**: This is the child's ability to be self-aware, more effective at communicating, and better at understanding the thoughts and feelings of others. - **Language**: A common tendency in children is to repeat new words back to you as they learn them. This process of language acquisition is a very powerful indicator of child development. ### 5. Occupational Psychology - Industrial-Organizational Psychology, also known as I/O psychology, serves to study how human behavior impacts industry and organizations. - I/O psychologists: - Evaluate a work situation - Develop a plan for performance - Work-life balance in that situation for the employees. - Investigates all aspects of behavior in a work setting: - Selection and recruitment of employees - Work motivation to leadership. - Now a days, a number of companies are using modern versions of tests for hiring and selection of employees. - Specialists in this field also apply psychology to problems related to: - Management and employee training - Leadership and supervision - Communication - Motivation - Group conflict within the organization. - They organize on-the-job training programs for improving work environments and human relations in organizations and work settings. ### 6. Clinical Psychology - Diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances. - Clinical psychologists directly provide healthcare to patients who are suffering from mental illness. - Clinical psychologists interact with patients through: - Observations - Interviews - Tests - Then, they make a diagnosis and come up with a plan to deal with the symptoms. - Many psychologists in this field use psychological theory and therapy for treating mental disorders in patients. - Over multiple visits, psychologists delve into the emotions and experiences of a patient to provide insight into the illness. - Clinical psychologists carry out research to find out better ways of: - Diagnosing - Treating - Preventing psychological disorders. - They use standardized tests for identifying the causes of these disorders. - They use psychotherapy, for which they are trained, for the treatment of mental disorders. ### 6. Health Psychology - Focuses on how biological, psychological, behavior, and social factors influence health and illness. - Health is affected by a variety of factors. For example: - Heredity affects overall physical well-beings - Various medical conditions - Health psychologist expect to help people live better through healthier behavior. - Focuses on educating people about their own health and well-being, such as: - Helping people maintain a healthy weight - Avoid unhealthy behavior - Develop positive attitudes that can fight with many mental illnesses and diseases like depression, anxiety. - Are trained to give support and make patient gain coping skills. ## Significance of Psychology in Nursing ### To understand her own self - The knowledge of psychology will help the nurse to get an insight into her: - Motives - Desires - Emotions - Feelings - Attitudes - Personality - Characteristics - Ambitions - She will realize how her personality is highly individualistic and complex, arrives at decisions in her life, and solves her own problems. - This knowledge also helps her to understand her strengths and weaknesses. - By knowing these aspects: - She can overcome her weaknesses. - She can develop abilities to carry on her responsibilities. - She can perform her duties effectively and efficiently. - This will let her: - Direct her own life more productively. - Enable her to control situations. - Attain self-discipline. ### To understand patients - Nurses are professionals meant for providing care to patients. - The patient may be suffering from acute/chronic disease, may be male/female, young/old, and come to the hospital with so many physical and psychological problems. - Patients may also have tensions, worries, pains, and doubts about their illness. - The knowledge of Psychology will help the nurse to understand the problems and needs of patients and attend to them. - She can understand the attitudes, perceptions, and personality characteristics of patients in a better way. - This will help the patient to attain quick relief and cure, which is the basic motto of a nurse. ### To recognize abnormal behavior - Psychology is highly relevant in the field of mental health. - Presently, more and more people are suffering from mental illness. - While some patients may have minor problems, others suffer with serious illness. - The knowledge of Psychology will help nurses to understand abnormal behaviors and help the patient in management of mental illnesses. - The knowledge of Psychology helps the nurses in recognizing mental illnesses at hospitals and community health centers, and provide appropriate guidance to deal with stress, anxiety, and other life problems. ### To understand other people - The nurse has to study, work, and live with other nurses, doctors, patients, and their family members. - Psychology helps nurses to understand other people better and thus achieve greater success in interpersonal relationships. - She will learn why others differ from her in their: - Likes and dislikes - Interests and abilities - Reactions to others. - She will realize differences in behavior are due to: - Differences in customs and beliefs. - Cultural patterns of the groups to which she belongs. - The way she was brought up during her early years. ### To provide quality care to patients - A nurse with good knowledge of human psychology can understand: - The fears and anxieties of the patient. - The feelings of the patient. - What the patient would like to know. - Why the patient behaves the way he does. - This will help the nurse to: - Meet requirements of the patients and his relatives. - A good understanding of these patients by the nurse can be of best support to him. ### Help patients adjust to the situation - Illness and physical handicaps often bring about the need for major adjustments. - Many diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, require special coping skills and health care. - A nurse trained in Psychology can be an effective health educator and help in these kinds of adjustments.