OPPapers.com

Declaration Of Independeance

Psychology has many definitions to what it is. One definition is that it's the study of the human mind. But actually Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of humans and animals. Psychologists use scientific methods in an attempt to understand and predict behavior, to develop procedures for changing behavior, and to evaluate treatment strategies. Research might be conducted n the laboratory where the factors studied can be controlled; or it may take place in a real life setting where more natural behavior is studied. Psychology has a long history to it, and to become a psychologist education can be quite expensive. But in the long run what psychologists are earning these days can be very recompensing.

Psychology has been around since the 1500's. Rudolph Goclenius was a German scholastic philosopher that is credited with inventing the term "psychology". The root of the word psychology (psyche) means "soul" or "spirit." In Greek, psychology was sometimes considered a study of the soul (in a religious sense of this term). Until about the end of the 19th century psychology was regarded as a branch of philosophy.

In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt founded a laboratory at the university in Germany in Leipzig specifically to focus on the study of psychology. William James later published his 1890 book, Principles of Psychology which laid many of the foundations for the sorts of questions that psychologists would focus on for years to come. Other important early contributors to the field include Hermann Ebbinghaus (a pioneer in studies on memory) and the Russian Ian Palov (who discovered the learning process of classical conditioning.)

Humanistic psychology emerged in the 1950's and has continued as a reaction to positivist and scientific approaches to the mind. It stresses a phenomenological view of human experience and seeks to understand human beings and their behavior by conducting qualitative research. The humanistic approach has it's roots in...