Ψ

PSYCHOLOGY
Class XI - G

May, 2025

Presented by Raniya Sree

Objective
🔸 To understand the nature and role of
psychology in understanding mind and
behaviour.
🔸 To state the growth of the discipline.
🔸 To know the different fields of psychology
and its relationship with other disciplines and
professions.
🔸 To appreciate the value of psychology in
daily life
 Chapter 1
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
After reading this chapter, you would be able to:

• understand the nature and role of psychology in understanding mind and behaviour,
• state the growth of the discipline,
• know the different fields of psychology, its relationship with other disciplines, and
professions, and
• appreciate the value of psychology in daily life to help you understand yourself and
others better.
Contents
Introduction
What is Psychology?
• Psychology as a Discipline
• Psychology as a Natural Science
• Psychology as a Social Science

Understanding Mind and Behaviour

Popular Notions about the Discipline
of Psychology Evolution of Psychology
• Some Interesting Landmarks in the Evolution of
Modern Psychology (Box 1.1)

Development of Psychology in India

Branches of Psychology
Themes of Research and Applications
Psychology and Other Disciplines
Psychologists at Work
Psychology in Everyday Life
 Major
H. P. S. Ahluwalia

• Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia was born on 6 November 1936

• For his academic career he went to St Joseph's Academy, Dehradun and
St. George's College, Mussoorie.
• There, he discovered his interest in photography and rock climbing. Along with
graduation, his interest in rock-climbing increased.
• Some of the places where Ahluwalia did his rock climbing are Garhwal, Sikkim,
Nepal, Ladakh, and of course Mount Everest.
• He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical and Mechanical engineering
from the College of Military Engineering, Pune in 1964.
Major Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia died in Delhi on 14 January 2022, at the age of 85.
 INTRODUCTION
Any knowledge discipline is hard to define.
Long time back, it was told that the The range of phenomena it studies, are
term psychology is derived from two spread over several levels, viz.
Greek words psyche meaning soul individual, dyadic (two person) group, and
and logos meaning science or study
organisational.
of a subject.
They also have biological as well as social
Thus, psychology was a study of the
1 soul or mind. 3 bases. 5

Firstly, because it evolves Therefore, the methods required to study them

But since then it has moved also vary greatly depending on the
continuously.
2 away considerably from this 4 phenomenon one wants to study.
Secondly, because the
focus and established itself as a A discipline is defined both in terms of what it
range of phenomena it studies and
studies cannot be captured scientific discipline which deals
how it studies.
by any one definition. with processes underlying
In fact, more in terms of how or method/s it
This is even more true of human experience and uses.
psychology. behaviour.

Keeping this in view...........

 Define psychology.
Psychology is defined formally as a science
which studies mental processes, experiences
and behaviour in different contexts.
 Let us try to understand the three terms used
in the definition, namely,
• mental processes,
• experience, and
• behaviour.
Behaviour
 Psychology as a Discipline

● Psychology studies behaviour, experience and mental processes.

● It seeks to understand and explain
➢ how the mind works and
➢ how different mental processes result in different behaviours.

● When we observe others as common persons, our own points of view of understanding the world influence our interpretations of their behaviours and experiences.
WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS DO TO PREVENT BIAS?
● Psychologists try to minimise such biases in their explanations of behaviour and experience in various ways. That is :
➢ by seeking to make their analysis scientific and objective.

In the Indian tradition, self-reflection and analysis of our conscious experiences is held to be a major source of psychological understanding.

Many Western psychologists have also begun to emphasise the role of self-reflection and self-knowledge in understanding human behaviour and experience.

Psychology, though it is a very old knowledge discipline, is a young science,

The year of the founding of the first laboratory of psychology in 1879 in Leipzig.
Two of the most sought after emerging disciplines which continuously borrow from psychology are Neuroscience and Computer Science.
● 'Cognitive' is a term used in psychology to describe anything related to thinking, learning,
and understanding.
● They are referring to different aspects of how the brain works—things like remembering
information, learning new things, paying attention, and processing all of the information you
encounter each day.
● Cognitive abilities are something you use each and every day. For example, when you are
learning a new instrument, you are using your cognitive skills to learn the basics of music
theory, pick up melodies, learn the notes, and put that information together to produce music).
 Thus, psychology as a discipline today has two parallel streams.
● One which makes use of the method in physical and biological sciences and
● the other which makes use of the method of social and cultural sciences in studying various
psychological and social phenomena.
 These streams sometimes converge only to drift apart and go their separate ways.
In the first case, psychology considers itself as a discipline, which focuses largely on biological
principles to explain human behaviour.
 ASSUMPTION:
All behavioural phenomena have causes which can be discovered if we can collect data
systematically under controlled conditions.
Here the aim of the researcher is to know the cause and effect relationship
so that a prediction of the behavioural phenomenon can be made and behaviour can be controlled if
need be.
On the other hand, psychology as a social science focuses on how behavioural phenomena can be
explained in terms of the interaction that takes place between the person and the socio cultural
context of which he/she is a part.
Let us now discuss these two streams separately.
 René Descartes
Born: March 31, 1596, Descartes, France
Died: February 11, 1650 (age 53 years),
Stockholm, Sweden

Dualism: Mind and body are two different entities

 The Latin cogito, ergo sum, usually
translated into English as "I think,
therefore I am", is the "first principle"
of René Descartes's philosophy
 John Locke
Born: August 29, 1632, United Kingdom
Died: October 28, 1704 (age 72 years), United
Kingdom
Influenced by: Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes,
Aristotle
 Psychology as a Natural Science
- Psychology has its roots in philosophy.
- However, modern psychology has developed because of the application of the scientific method
to study psychological phenomenon.
- Psychology was influenced by Descartes and
later on by the developments in physics has grown by following what is called a hypothetico-
deductive model. The model suggests that scientific advancement can take place if you have a
theory to explain a phenomenon.
-For example, physicists have what is called a Big-bang theory to explain how the universe came to
be formed.
-Theory is nothing else but a set of statements about how a certain complex phenomenon can be
explained with the help of propositions which are interrelated.
The Big Bang theory suggests that the universe began from an extremely hot, dense point smaller
than a subatomic particle. An unimaginable force caused the intense burst of energy from the tiny
point in a fraction of a second distributing all the matter and energy in all directions.
- Based on a theory, scientists propose a hypothesis, that offers a tentative explanation of how a certain
phenomenon takes place.
- The hypothesis then is tested and proved true or false based on empirical data that one has gathered.
 A hypothesis often follows a basic format of
"If {this happens} then {this will happen}." One way to structure your hypothesis is to describe
what will happen to the dependent variable if you change the independent variable.

eg: Students who experience test anxiety before an English exam will get lower scores than
students who do not experience test anxiety.
 the independent variable, which is a variable that stands on its own. For example, in a study
looking at how tutoring impacts test scores, the dependent variable would be the participants'
test scores since that is what is being measured and the independent variable would be
tutoring.
 - The theory is revised if data gathered point in a different direction than the one suggested by the hypothesis.
- Using the above approach psychologists have developed theories of learning, memory,
attention, perception, motivation and emotion, etc. and have made significant progress.
Till date, most of the research in psychology follows this approach.

- Apart from this, psychologists have also been considerably influenced by the evolutionary
approach which is dominant in biological sciences. This approach has also been used to explain
diverse kinds of psychological phenomenon such as attachment and aggression.
 Psychology as a Social Science

· Psychology is recognised more as a social science because it studies the behaviour of human beings in their
socio-cultural contexts.
· Psychology as a social science discipline focuses on humans as social beings.
 Consider the following story of Ranjita and Shabnam. ‘

Ranjita and Shabnam were in the same class. Although, they were in the same class, they were just
acquainted with each other and their lives were quite different. Ranjita came from a farmer’s family.
Her grandparents, parents and elder brother worked on their farm. They lived together in their house
in the village. Ranjita was a good athlete and was the best long distance runner in the school. She
loved meeting people and making friends. Unlike her, Shabnam lived with her mother in the same
village. Her father worked in an office in a town nearby and came home during holidays. Shabnam was
a good artist and loved staying home and taking care of her younger brother. She was shy and
avoided meeting people. Last year there was very heavy rain and the river nearby overflowed into the
village. Many houses in the low lying areas were flooded. The villagers got together and organised help
and gave shelter to people in distress. Shabnam’s house was also flooded and she came to live in
Ranjita’s house with her mother and brother. Ranjita was happy helping the family and making them
feel comfortable in her house. When the flood water receded, Ranjita’s mother and grandmother
helped Shabnam’s mother to set-up their house. The two families became very close. Ranjita and
Shabnam also became very good friends.
 In the case of Ranjita and Shabnam, both are very different persons. They grew up in different families under complex social and
cultural conditions.

You can see some regularity in the relationship of their nature, experience and mental processes with their social and physical
environment.
But at the same time, there are variations in their behaviours and experiences which would be difficult to predict using the known
psychological principles.

One can understand why and how individuals in communities become quite helpful and self-sacrificing in crisis as was the case
with the people in the village of Ranjita and Shabnam.
But, even in that case, not every villager was equally helpful and also under similar circumstances not every community is so
forthcoming; in fact, sometimes, the opposite is true – people become antisocial under similar circumstances indulging in looting
and exploitation when some crisis occurs.
This shows that psychology deals with human
behaviour and experience in the context of
their society and culture.
Thus, psychology is a social science with focus
on the individuals and communities in relation
to their socio cultural and physical
environment.
UNDERSTANDING MINDAND
BEHAVIOUR
For many decades, the mind remained a taboo
in psychology because it could not be defined
in concrete behavioural terms or its location
could not be indicated.
If the term “mind” has returned to psychology, we should thank
neuroscientists like Sperry and

Roger Wolcott Sperry (August 20, 1913 – April 17, 1994)

American neuropsychologist, neurobiologist, cognitive neuroscientist, and Nobel
laureate
physicists like Penrose, who have given it the
respect which it deserved and now has.
 Sir Roger Penrose
(born 8 August 1931)
It is true that mind cannot exist without brain, but mind is a separate entity.
This can be appreciated on account of several interesting cases that have been
documented.
 Some patients whose occipital lobes, which are responsible for vision, were
surgically removed have been found to be responding correctly to location and
configuration of visual cues.
 CASE
What do you think would
happen if your occipital lobes were damaged?
Back in the 1970s, most scientists and physicians would have said, “you would become blind.” It turns
out that the answer is more complicated than that.
When he was 8-years old,
Graham Young from Oxford, England, was injured in a bicycle accident.
Afterward, he reported that parts of his vision were gone. He told his
doctors that he could no longer see anything to the right of his center of
vision with either his left or right eye. The left side of his visual world
in both eyes was normal. Although he says that he would sometimes walk into
objects to his right because he couldn’t see them, when tested fifteen years
later, an optician discovered that Mr. Young seemed to respond to visual
movements in his “blind” area.
Graham Young was put into contact with Psychologists Larry Weiskrantz
and Elizabeth Warrington, who had worked previously with a person (known as
DB) who seemed to have a similar ability to see despite blindness. DB could
report shapes, colors, movement, and the orientation of objects despite
claiming that he could see nothing. He said that he was guessing, but he was
usually right about colors and shapes and other characteristics of the objects.
Here is a brief video of the man who experiences complete blindness because his
visual cortex in both hemispheres has been damaged. The researchers (including
Dr. Weiskrantz, mentioned above) set up an obstacle course for the man (whose
face is blurred to protect his privacy). Watch how well he moves through the
objects without help. The man behind him is just there as a safety precaution.
 Capgras syndrome (CS)
It is a syndrome characterized by a false belief that an identical duplicate
has replaced someone significant to the patient.
It was earlier believed by scientists that there is no relationship
between the mind and the body and that they were parallel to
each other.
Recent studies in affective neuroscience have
clearly shown that there is a relationship
between mind and behaviour.
 It has been shown that using positive
visualisation techniques and feeling positive
emotions, one can bring about significant
changes in bodily processes.

Ornish has shown this in a number of studies with his patients.

 Dean Michael Ornish
Born: July 16, 1953 (age 71 years),
Dallas, Texas, United States

Dean Michael Ornish is an American physician and researcher.

He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito,
California, and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
In these studies a person with blocked arteries was made to visualise that blood
was flowing through her/ his blocked arteries. After practicing this over a period
of time, significant relief was obtained by these patients as the degree of blockage
became significantly less.
Use of mental imagery(explanation: Mental imagery is a scene or object perceived by the brain, even though it is not actually
present in the environment of the perceiver) , i.e. images generated by a person in her/his mind, have been used to cure
various kinds of phobias (irrational fears of objects and situations).
 Anew discipline called Psychoneuroimmunology has emerged
which emphasises the role played by the mind in strengthening the
immune system.
Activity 1.1
Imagine and visualise yourself in the following situations.
Mention three psychological processes involved in each situation.
1. You are writing an essay for a competition.
2. You are chatting with a friend on an interesting topic.
3. You are playing football.
4. You are watching a soap opera on TV.
5. Your best friend has hurt you.
6. You are appearing in an examination.
7. You are expecting an important visitor.
8. You are preparing a speech to deliver in your school.
9. You are playing chess.
10. You are trying to figure out the answer of a difficult mathematics problem. Discuss your answers with the teacher
and classmates.
 Activity
Q. What is one human behavior you have been
curious about? Elaborate with a suitable
example.
POPULAR NOTIONS ABOUT THE DISCIPLINE OF PSYCHOLOGY
 Carol Susan Dweck
Born: October 17, 1946 (age 78 years),
New York, New York, United States

Carol Susan Dweck is an American psychologist. She holds the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professorship of Psychology at Stanford
University. Dweck is known for her work on motivation and mindset.
EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOLOGY
The year of the founding of the first laboratory of psychology in 1879 in Leipzig.
 Introspection was a procedure in which individuals or subjects in
psychological experiments were asked to describe in detail, their own
mental processes or experiences.
 Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt
Born:August 16, 1832, Mannheim, Germany
Died:August 31, 1920 (age 88 years), Grimma, Germany

Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a
science from philosophy and biology, was the first person to call himself a psychologist.
He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology"
 Sigmund Freud

1856 -
1939
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, is often referred to as the
"father of modern psychology."
 Structuralism, largely associated with Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Titchener, focuses
on breaking down mental processes into their basic elements, aiming to understand the structure of
consciousness through methods like introspection.
However, introspection as a method did not satisfy many other psychologists. It was considered less
scientific because the introspective reports could not be verified by outside observers.

This led to the development of new perspectives in psychology.

 Functionalism

• William James developed a functionalist approach to study the human mind.

• He believed that instead of focusing on the STRUCTURE OF MIND psychology
should instead study what the mind does and how behaviour functions in making
people deal with their environment.
 William James

Born: January 11, 1842, New York, New York, United States
Died:August 26, 1910 (age 68 years), Chocorua, Tamworth, New Hampshire, United States
 John Dewey
Born: October 20, 1859, Burlington, Vermont, United States
Died: June 1, 1952 (age 92 years), New York, New York, United States

Avery influential educational thinker of the time, John Dewey, used functionalism to argue that human beings seek to function effectively by
adapting to their environment
Gestalt psychology
• Early 20th century: A new perspective called Gestalt psychology emerged
in Germany as a reaction to the structuralism of Wundt.
• It focused on the organisation of perceptual experiences. Instead of
looking at the components of the mind, the Gestalt psychologists argued
that when we look at the world our perceptual experience is more than the
sum of the components of the perception.
• In other words, what we experience is more than the inputs received from
our environment.
• Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the Gestalt
psychologists believed that one must look at the whole of experience.
• According to Gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a philosophy
known as holism.
Behavior
ism
 John B. Watson

Born: January 9, 1878, Travelers Rest, South Carolina, United States

Died: September 25, 1958 (age 80 years), Woodbury, Connecticut, United States
 Psychoanalysis

• One person who shook the world with his radical view of human nature was Sigmund Freud.
• Freud viewed human behaviour as a dynamic manifestation of unconscious desires and conflicts.
• He founded psychoanalysis as a system to understand and cure psychological disorders.
• While Freudian psychoanalysis viewed human beings as motivated by unconscious desire for gratification of pleasure seeking desires.
 Humanistic perspective of psychology
Humanists: Carl Roger and Abraham Maslow

Carl Roger
Abraham Maslow
Born: January 8, 1902,
Oak Park, Illinois, United States Born: April 1, 1908, Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: February 4, 1987 (age 85 years), Died: June 8, 1970 (age 62 years),
La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States Menlo Park, California, United States
• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasised the
free will of human beings and their natural striving to
grow and unfold their inner potential.
• The humanistic perspective considers the basic
human needs of an individual and how important they
really are to the overall happiness of that person. This
considers aspects that are relevant to life and liberty.
 Cognitive
Perspective
Gestalt approach + Structuralism = Cognitive perspective
Focus: How we know about the world.

Cognition: Process of knowing

• It involves thinking, understanding, perceiving, memorising, problem solving and a host of other mental processes
by which our knowledge of the world develops, making us able to deal with the environment in specific ways.
• Some cognitive psychologists view the human mind as an information processing system like the computer.
• Mind, according to this view is like a computer and it receives, processes, transforms, stores and retrieves
information.
• Modern cognitive psychology views human beings as actively constructing their minds through their exploration
into the physical and the social world.
• This view is sometimes called constructivism.
 DEVELOPMENT OF
PSYCHOLOGY IN INDIA
• The Indian philosophical tradition focuses on mental processes and
reflections on human consciousness, self, mind-body relations, and a
variety of mental functions (cognition, perception, illusion, attention
and reasoning, etc).
• Unfortunately, philosophical roots in the Indian tradition have not
influenced the development of modern psychology in India.
• The development of the discipline in India continues to be dominated
by western psychology, although some attempts have been made to find
points of departure both within the country and abroad.
• The beginning of modern experimental psychology at Calcutta University was greatly
influenced by the Indian psychologist Dr. N.N. Sengupta who was trained in the USA in the
experimental tradition of Wundt.
• Professor G. Bose was trained in Freudian psychoanalysis,
• Professor Bose established Indian Psychoanalytical Association in 1922.

Girindrasekhar Bose
Dr. Narendra Nath Sen
(31 January 1887 – 3 June 1953)
Gupta
• Departments of Psychology in the Universities of Mysore and
Patna were other early centres of teaching and research in
psychology.
• There are two centers of excellence in psychology supported by
the UGC at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar and at the University of
Allahabad.
• About 70 universities offer courses in psychology.
 Durganand Sinha in his book Psychology in a Third World Country: The Indian Experience
published in 1986 traces the history of modern psychology as a social science in India in four
phases.

Durganand Sinha
(1922-1998)
According to him,
The first phase till independence was a phase with
emphasis on experimental, psychoanalytic and
psychological testing research, which primarily
reflected the development of the discipline in
western countries.
• The second phase till the 1960s was a phase of expansion of psychology in
India into different branches of psychology.
• During this phase Indian psychologists showed a desire to have an Indian
identity by seeking to link western psychology to the Indian context.

• They did this by using western ideas to understand the Indian situation.
• However, psychology in India sought to become relevant for Indian society in the post
1960s phase of problem-oriented research.
• Psychologists became more focused on addressing the problems of Indian society.
• Further, the limitations of excessive dependence on western psychology for our social
context were also realised.
• Leading psychologists emphasised the significance of research, which is of relevance to
our situation.
• The search for a new identity of psychology in India led to the phase of
indigenisation(The indigenization of psychology acknowledges the importance of
understanding and appreciating this cultural diversity in the Indian context. It
recognizes that psychological processes, such as cognition, emotion, and behavior, are
influenced by cultural factors and social contexts), which started during the late
1970s.
• Besides rejecting the western framework, Indian psychologists stressed the need for
developing an understanding based on a framework, which was culturally and socially
relevant.
• This trend was also reflected in some attempts to develop psychological approaches
based on traditional Indian psychology, which came from our ancient texts and
scriptures. Thus, this phase is characterised by development in indigenous
psychology, which originated from the Indian cultural context and was relevant for
society and Indian psychology based on the Indian traditional knowledge system.
Psychology in India is now being applied in diverse professional areas.
Not only have psychologists been working with children having special problems,
they are employed in hospitals as clinical psychologists, in corporate organisations in
the HRD and advertising departments, in sports directorates, in the development
sector and in IT industry
BRANCHES OF
PSYCHOLOGY
 1.Cognitive Psychology

• Investigates mental processes involved in

*acquisition,
(Acquisition refers to the initial stage of learning or conditioning. It's the process where a new behavior is
introduced and gradually strengthened, leading to a conditioned response. In simpler terms, it's the
"acquiring" of a new knowledge or behavior.)
*storage,
*manipulation, and
*transformation of information received from the
environment along with its use and communication.
• The major cognitive
processes are
*attention,
*perception,
*memory,
*reasoning,
*problem solving,
*decision-making and
• In order to study these cognitive
processes, psychologists conduct
experiments in laboratory settings.
• Some of them also follow an ecological
approach, i.e. an approach which
focuses on the environmental factors, to
study cognitive processes in a natural
setting.
• Cognitive psychologists often
2. Biological Psychology

• Focuses on the relationship between behaviour and the

physical system, including the brain and the rest of the
nervous system, the immune system, and genetics.
• Biological psychologists often collaborate with
neuroscientists, zoologists, and anthropologists.
• Neuropsychology has emerged as a field of research
where psychologists and neuroscientists are working
together.
• Researchers are studying the role of
neurotransmitters or chemical
substances which are responsible for
neural communication in different
areas of the brain and therefore in
associated mental functions.
• They do their research on people with
normal functioning brain as well as on
people with damaged brain by
 3. Developmental Psychology
• studies the physical, social and
psychological changes that occur at
different ages and stages over a
life-span, from conception to old
age.
• The primary concern of
developmental psychologists is how
• For many years the major emphasis was on child and
adolescent development.
• However today an increasing number of
developmental psychologists show strong interest in
adult development and ageing.
• They focus on the biological, socio-cultural and
environmental factors that influence psychological characteristics
such as intelligence, cognition, emotion, temperament, morality, and social
relationship. Developmental psychologists collaborate
with anthropologists, educationists, neurologists,
social workers, counsellors and almost every branch
 4. Social Psychology
• explores how people are affected by their social environments, how people think
about and influence others.
• Social psychologists are interested in such topics as attitudes, conformity and
obedience to authority, interpersonal attraction
(Interpersonal attraction refers to the phenomenon where individuals are drawn to others
based on shared humor, leading to increased feelings of closeness and mutual attraction,
especially during initial encounters.)
helpful behaviour, prejudice, aggression, social motivation, inter-group’
(Intergroup relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to
interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively. It has long been a subject of
research in social psychology, political psychology, and organizational behavior.)
relations and so on.
 5. Cross-cultural and Cultural Psychology
• examines the role of culture in understanding behaviour,
thought, and emotion.
• It assumes that human behaviour is not only a reflection of human-
biological potential but also a product of culture.
• Therefore behaviour should be studied in its socio-cultural context.
 6. Environmental Psychology
• studies the interaction of physical factors such as
temperature, humidity, pollution, and natural
disasters on human behaviour.
• The influence of physical arrangement of the
workplace on health, the emotional state, and
interpersonal relations are also investigated.
• Current topics of research in this field are the
extent to which, disposal of waste, population
explosion, conservation of energy, efficient use of
community resources are associated with and are
 7. Health Psychology
• focuses on the role of psychological factors (for example, stress, anxiety) in the development,
prevention and treatment of illness.
• Areas of interest for a health psychologist are stress and coping, the relationship between
psychological factors and health, patient-doctor relationship and ways of promoting health enhancing
factors.
 8.Clinical and Counselling Psychology
• deals with causes, treatment and prevention of different types of psychological disorders such
as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and chronic substance abuse.
• A related area is counselling, which aims to improve everyday functioning by helping people
solve problems in daily living and cope more effectively with challenging situations.
• The work of clinical psychologists does not differ from that of counselling psychologists
although a counselling psychologist sometimes deals with people who have less serious
problems.
• In many instances, counselling psychologists work with students, advising them about personal
problems and career planning.
• Clinical psychologists, psychiatrists also study the causes, treatment, and prevention of
psychological disorders.
Q. How are clinical psychologists and psychiatrists
different?
• A clinical psychologist has a degree in psychology,
which includes intensive training in treating people
with psychological disorders.
• In contrast, a psychiatrist has a medical degree with
years of specialised training in the treatment of
psychological disorders.
• One important distinction is that psychiatrists can
 9 Industrial/Organisational Psychology
• deals with workplace behaviour, focusing on both the workers and the organisations that employ
them.
• Industrial/organisational psychologists are concerned with training employees, improving work
conditions, and developing criteria for selecting employees.
• For example, an organisational psychologist might recommend that a company may adopt a new
management structure that would increase communication between managers and staff.
• The background of industrial and organisational psychologists often includes training in cognitive
and social psychology.
 10. Educational Psychology
• studies how people of all ages learn.
• Educational psychologists primarily help develop instructional methods and materials used to train
people in both educational and work settings.
• They are also concerned with research on issues of relevance for education, counselling and learning
problems.
• A related field, school psychology, focuses on designing programmes that promote intellectual,
social, and emotional development of children, including those with special needs. They try to apply
knowledge of psychology in a school setting
 Sports Psychology
• applies psychological principles to improve
sports performance by enhancing their
motivation.
• Sports psychology is a relatively new field but
is gaining acceptance worldwide.
 Other Emerging Branches of Psychology
The interdisciplinary focus on research and application of psychology has led to the emergence of
varied areas like
1. aviation psychology,
2. space psychology,
3. military psychology,
4. forensic psychology,
5. rural psychology,
6. engineering psychology,
7. managerial psychology,
8. community psychology,
9. psychology of women, and
10.political psychology,
 PSYCHOLOGY AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

• Any discipline, which deals with people, would definitely recognise the relevance of the
knowledge of psychology.
• Similarly psychologists also acknowledge the relevance of other disciplines in understanding
human behaviour.
• This trend has led to the emergence of interdisciplinary approach in the field
of psychology.
• Researchers and scholars in science, social science and humanities
Figurehave felt
1.1 clearly the significance of psychology as a discipline.
shows
• Fig 1 clearly shows the relationship of psychology with other disciplines.
• In studying brain and behaviour, psychology shares its knowledge with neurology, physiology, biology, medicine and computer
science.
• In studying human behaviour (its meaning, growth and development) in a socio-cultural context, psychology shares its
knowledge with anthropology, sociology, social work, political science and economics.
• In studying mental activities involved in creation of literary texts, music and drama, psychology shares its knowledge with
literature, art and music.
 • Some of the major disciplines linked to the field of psychology are discussed below:
1. Philosophy :
• Until the end of the 19th century, certain concerns that are now part of contemporary psychology like,
what is the nature of the mind ?
or how do humans come to know their motivations and emotions?
were the concerns of philosophers.
• In the later part of the 19th century, Wundt and other psychologists adopted an experimental
approach to these questions and contemporary psychology emerged.
2. Medicine :
• Doctors have realised that the maxim,
healthy body requires a healthy mind, is actually true.
• A large number of hospitals now employ psychologists. The role of psychologists in
preventing people from engaging in health hazardous behaviours and in adhering to the
prescribed doctors’ regimen are some of the important areas where the two disciplines have
come together.
• While treating patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, and the physically challenged, or
handling patients in the Intensive Care Unit, and patients during post operative care doctors
have also felt the need for psychological counselling.
• A successful doctor looks at the psychological as well as physical well-being of the patients.
Economics, Political Science and Sociology :
• As sister social science disciplines, these three have drawn considerably from psychology and have enriched it as well.
• Psychology has contributed a great deal to the study of micro-level economic behaviour, particularly in understanding consumer
behaviour, savings behaviour and in decision making.
• American economists have used data on consumer sentiments to predict economic growth. Three scholars who have worked on
such problems have received the Nobel Prize in Economics, namely H. Simon, D. Kahneman and T. Schelling.
• Like economics, political science too draws considerably from psychology, particularly, in understanding issues
related to exercise of power and authority, nature of political conflicts and their resolutions, and voting behaviour.
• Sociology and psychology come together to explain and understand the behaviour of individuals within
different socio-cultural contexts. Issues related to socialisation, group and collective behaviour, and
intergroup conflicts gain from both these disciplines.
 Daniel Kahneman
Israeli-American psychologist
Born: March 5, 1934, Israel
Died: March 27, 2024 (age 90 years), Switzerland

Herbert A. Simon Thomas Schelling

American computer science American economist
researcher
Born: April 14, 1921, Oakland, California, United States
Died: December 13, 2016 (age 95 years), Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Born: June 15, 1916, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: February 9, 2001 (age 84 years), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
 Computer Science
• From the very beginning, the effort of computer science has been in mimicking the human mind.
• One can see it in terms of how a ‘computer’ is structured, its memory organised, sequential and
simultaneous processing of information.
• Computer scientists and engineers are seeking to make computers not only more and more intelligent but
also machines which can sense and feel.
• Developments in both these disciplines have brought about significant advancement in the field of
cognitive sciences.
 Law and Criminology :
• A skilled lawyer and a criminologist requires knowledge of psychology in answering such questions as:
• How well a witness remembers an accident, a street fight, or a murder?
• How well can s/he report such facts when taking the witness stand in the court?
• What factors influence the decision which is taken by the jury?
• What are the dependable signs of guilt and falsehood?
• What factors are held important in holding a culprit responsible for her/his action?
• What degree of punishment is considered just for a criminal act?
• Psychologists seek to answer these questions.
 Mass Communication :
• The print and the electronic media have a major influence on our thinking, attitudes and our
emotions. If they have brought us closer together, they have also reduced cultural diversities.
• The impact of media on the formation of attitudes of children and their behaviour is a domain where
both these disciplines come together.
• Psychology also helps in developing strategies for better and effective communication.
• A journalist in reporting news must know the reader’s interests in the story.
• Since most stories deal with human events, knowledge of their motives and emotions is very
important.
• A story will have more impact if it is based on a background of psychological knowledge and insight
 Music and Fine Arts :
• Music and psychology have converged in many areas.
• Scientists have made use of music in raising work performance.
• Music and emotions is another area in which a number of studies have been carried out.
• Musicians in India have recently started experimenting with what they call ‘Music Therapy’.
• In this they use different ‘Ragas’ for curing certain physical ailments.
• The efficacy of music therapy still remains to be proven.
 Architecture and Engineering :
• At first glance the relationship between psychology and architecture and engineering would appear
improbable.
• But such is actually not the case. Ask any architect, s/he must satisfy her/his clients by providing
mental and physical space through her design and satisfy aesthetically.
• Engineers must also take into account human habits in their plans for safety, for example, on streets
and highways. Psychological knowledge helps in a big way in designing of all mechanical devices
and displays.
• To sum up, psychology is located at the intersection of many fields of knowledge pertaining to
human functioning.
 PSYCHOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE
• psychology is not only a subject that satisfies some of the curiosities of our mind about human nature, but it is
also a subject that can offer solutions to a variety of problems.
• These may range from purely personal (for example, a daughter having to face an alcoholic father or a mother
dealing with a problem child)
• to those that may be rooted within the family set up (for example, lack of communication and interaction
among family members) or
• in a larger group or community setting (for example, terrorist groups or socially isolated communities) or may
have national or international dimensions.
• Problems related to education, health, environment, social justice, women development, intergroup relations,
etc. are pervasive.
• While the solution of these problems may involve political, economic and social reforms, interventions at the
individual levels are also needed in order to change. Many of these problems are largely of psychological
nature and they result from our unhealthy thinking, negative attitude towards people and self and undesirable
patterns of behaviour.
• A psychological analysis of these problems helps both in having a deeper understanding of these problems and
also in finding their effective solutions.
• Media has played a vital role.
• You may have seen on television counsellors and therapists suggesting solutions to a
variety of problems related to children, adolescents, adults and the elderly people.
• Many psychologists now play an active role in designing and executing intervention
programmes in order to provide people with a better quality of life.
• Hence, it is no surprise that we find psychologists working in diverse settings such as
schools, hospitals, industries, prisons, business organisations, military
establishments, and in private practice as consultants helping people solve problems
in their respective settings.
• very often, some of us think very highly of ourselves and any feedback that contradicts our opinion
about ourselves is rejected because we engage in what is called a defensive behaviour.
• In some other cases, persons come to acquire a habit of running down themselves.
• Both conditions do not permit us to grow.
• We need to have a positive and balanced understanding of ourselves.
• You may use psychological principles in a positive manner to develop good habits of study for
improving your learning and memory, and for solving your personal and interpersonal problems by
using appropriate decision making strategies.
• You will also find it of use to reduce or alleviate the stress of examination.

• Thus, the knowledge of psychology is quite useful in our everyday life, and is rewarding from
personal as well as social points of view