What Is Psychology

Written Assignment 1

Yumiko Cesar

Thomas Edison State College

January, 2015

PSY-101-OL010

Abstract

The following questions will be addressed within the following text: (1) What is psychology; (2) What are the major divisions of the nervous system and their functions; (3) What is the structure of the brain and the functions of each major structure; and (4) What is the meaning of reliability and validity within psychological measurement?

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the behavior of individuals and their mental process (Gerrig, 2010). This science predates most of the sciences practices today and dates back to Ancient Greece and maybe even Ancient Egypt. Until the 1870s it was considered to be a branch of philosophy, but eventually developed into its own scientific area of discipline in the United States and Germany with the help of Wilhelm Wundt. In Leipzig, Germany, Wundt founded the first formal laboratory devoted to experimental psychology (Gerrig, 2010). Edward Titchener studied with Wundt and eventually founded his own laboratory in the United States at Cornell University in 1892. Around the same time, William James wrote a two-volume text, The Principles of Psychology. Many experts considered this to be the most important psychology text to ever be written (Gerrig, 2010). With the help of these three men, psychology became what it is today.

Wundt’s experimentation focused mainly on precise measurement, and statistical analysis of data. Titchener, on the hand, focused more on the “what” rather than the “why” or “how” of thinking. This approach became known as structuralism, or the study of the structure of the mind and behavior. It is based on the premise that all human intellectual practice could be understood as the combination of elemental factors. The endgame of this method was to acknowledge the underlying structure of the human mind by studying the key elements of emotions and other experiences that design a person’s mental life (Gerrig, 2010).

While William James agreed with Titchener that recognition was key to the study of psychology, he did not agree that it was shortened by elements, contents, and structures, but rather that consciousness is an ongoing stream. In other terms, it is the state of being awake and aware. This kind of thinking led to functionalism which allowed people to adapt to their surroundings and use what they have learned over time to behave adequately.

Both structuralism and functionalism led the way to what psychology is today and its seven different perspectives. The first of which, is the biological perspective. This may also be referred to as the biopsychology or physiological psychology. In this perspective, the physical and biological bases of behavior are emphasized. In the last few decades, this perspective has grown tremendously with the advances of our ability to explore and understand the human brain. A couple of reasons for the huge advancements are due to the inventions of several machines and procedures such as the MRI scan and PET scan.

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