Key Points

Psychology is formally defined as a science that studies mental processes, experiences, and behaviour in different contexts. It uses methods of biological and social sciences to obtain and organize data as knowledge.

Psychology focuses on three main areas: mental processes like thinking and memory, subjective experiences like pain or happiness, and behaviours which are our responses or activities.

Psychology is considered both a natural science, focusing on biological principles and cause-effect relationships, and a social science, focusing on behaviour in socio-cultural contexts.

The mind and brain are not the same, although they are interdependent. The brain is a physical structure, while the mind is an emergent entity that evolves from our interactions and experiences.

The formal beginning of modern psychology is traced back to 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.

Led by Wundt, Structuralism was the first school of thought, focusing on analyzing the structure of the mind through introspection. Introspection involved subjects describing their detailed mental processes.

Functionalism, an approach developed by William James, focused on what the mind does and how behaviour functions in helping people adapt to their environment, rather than focusing on the mind's structure.

Gestalt psychology emerged as a reaction to structuralism, arguing that perceptual experience is more than the sum of its parts. It emphasized that our experience is holistic or a 'Gestalt'.

Founded by John Watson around 1910, Behaviourism rejected the study of mind and consciousness. It defined psychology as the study of observable and verifiable behaviour or responses to stimuli.

Sigmund Freud founded Psychoanalysis, which viewed human behaviour as a dynamic manifestation of unconscious desires and conflicts. It was developed as a system to understand and cure psychological disorders.

Humanistic psychology, led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, emphasized the free will of human beings. It focused on their natural striving to grow and unfold their inner potential.

The cognitive perspective focuses on mental processes such as thinking, understanding, perceiving, and problem-solving. It views the human mind as an information processing system.

Modern psychology in India began at Calcutta University, which established the first psychology laboratory in 1915 and the first Department of Psychology in 1916. The discipline has since grown with an emphasis on indigenisation.

Psychology has various specialized fields such as Cognitive, Biological, Developmental, Social, Health, Clinical, Counselling, and Industrial Psychology, each focusing on specific areas of study and application.

A clinical psychologist has a degree in psychology and provides therapy, while a psychiatrist has a medical degree, can prescribe medications, and can give electroshock treatments.

Psychology shares knowledge with other disciplines like medicine, sociology, computer science, law, and economics to gain a better understanding of human behavior.