Class-11

Chapter-1
What is psychology?

Psychology is defined formally as a science that studies mental processes, experiences and
behaviours in different contexts. We will further understand the meaning of mental processes,
behaviours and experiences in detail

 Mental Processes are usually used when we think or to solve a problem, to know or
remember something. One level at which these mental processes are reflected in brain
activity. Unlike the brain, our mind does not have a physical structure or a definite
location.
 Experiences are subjective in nature which are studied by psychologists. One important
thing about experiences is that we cannot directly observe or know someone else’s
experience, only the experiencing person can be aware or conscious of her or his
experiences.
 Behaviours are responses or reactions we make or activities we engage in. Behaviours
may be simple or complex, short or enduring. Some behaviours are overt which means
they can be outwardly seen or sensed by an observer whereas some behaviours are
covert which means that they cannot be easily spotted and seen by other people

Psychology as a Discipline
Psychology is a discipline that studies about human behaviour, mental processes, experiences
in different contexts:

 It makes us understand how our mind works and how certain mental processes result in
a specific type of behaviour.
 Psychology as a Discipline today has two parallel streams namely-
o Natural Science
o Social Science

Psychology as a Natural Science

Psychology as a Natural Science largely focuses on biological principles to explain human
behaviour.

 It assumes that all behavioural phenomena have causes which can be discovered if we
can collect data systematically under controlled conditions.
 The main aim of the researcher is to understand the cause and effect relationship so
that an accurate prediction of the behavioural phenomena can be made.
 Psychologists use hypothetical deductive model to prove their hypothesis
  By the application of this model,many psychologists gave theories on topics like
Motivation, Memory etc.

Psychology as a Social Science

Psychology as a Social Science focuses on how behavioural phenomena can be explained in
terms of interaction that takes place between the person and the socio-cultural context of
which he/she is a part

 Studies human behavior in social context

 Humans are not only impacted by their socio-cultural contexts,they also create them as
well.
 Focuses on humans and communities as social beings in relation to their social culture
and physical environment.

Understanding Mind and Behaviour

It is true that the mind cannot exist without the brain but the mind is a separate entity:

 Earlier it was believed that there is no relationship between mind and body but now as
per various researches in neuroscience prove that there is indeed a relationship
between mind and Behaviour
 A new discipline called Psychoneuroimmunology has emerged in recent times which
primarily explains the significant role of the mind in strengthening our immune system.

Popular Notions About Psychology

 Common sense does not always equate with Psychological studies
 Common sense is based on hindsight. Psychology as a science looks for patterns of
behaviour which can be predicted and not explained after the behaviour occurs.
 Common Sense tells us that an individual is not able to perform the best in front
audience but Psychological studies have shown that if you have practiced well,you may
actually perform better than expected because the presence of others helps in
enhancing performance.

Also Read: Motivation and Emotion Class 11 Notes

The Evolution of Psychology

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The evolution of Psychology can be traced way back to 1879 when the first experimental
laboratory was established in Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm Wundt and he was interested in the
study of conscious experience and wanted to analyse building blocks of the mind. Due to the
fact that Psychologists during Wundt’s time started analysing the structure of the mind through
introspection, they were also called structuralists. Later on, this approach was taken over by a
functionalist approach. Introduced by an American psychologist, William James, the
functionalist approach utilised the study of the human mind instead of focusing on the
structure of the mind.

Structuralism
 It was proposed by Wilhelm Wundt and structuralism is considered the oldest school of
psychology.
 Structuralists were interested in the analysis of the human mind and its structure
 They were interested in conscious experience and wanted to study the building blocks
of the mind
 They used the introspection method to study mental processes and experiences

Functionalism
 Functionalism school of psychology was proposed by William James
 They focused on what the mind does and the function of consciousness in adjustment to
the environment
  According to functionalists, Consciousness is an ongoing mental process that cannot be
broken down into parts.

Behaviourism
 This school of psychology was proposed by John B.Watson who viewed Psychology as a
science of behaviour in terms of stimuli and responses.
 Our response to stimulus in the environment are the basic building blocks of our
personality
 Watson emphasized on observable and verifiable response to stimuli and he was
profoundly interested in the study of learning

Gestalt Psychology
 This school of psychology was in contrast to structuralism and it was founded in
Germany by Wertheimer, Kohler and Koffka.
 It primarily focused on perceptual Organization (Organization of what we see)
 As per Gestalt Psychology, we look at the world, our Perceptual experience is more than
its components.
 For example, when we look at a chair. We do not see four wooden legs but we recognise
it completely as a table

Psychoanalysis
 It was proposed by Dr Sigmund Freud
 As per this school of psychology, human behaviour is viewed as a dynamic manifestation
of unconscious desires and conflicts about which we are not completely aware at
present.
 Practical implementation of this school of psychology helps us to understand and cure
psychological disorders.

Humanistic Perspective
 Humanistic Perspective was proposed by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
 It laid emphasis on the free will of human beings and their actions are not
predetermined by any force.
 As per this school of psychology, human beings strive to grow and unleash their true
potential which lies within them.
 All human beings have an innate tendency to attain a state of self-actualization and the
nature of human activities is that they are goal-oriented.

Cognitive Perspective
  It was proposed by Jean Piaget and Vygotsky.
 This approach is considered as a fusion of the Gestalt Approach and Structuralism
 Lays emphasis on cognition which means thinking, understanding, perceiving,
memorising etc
 They view the human mind as an information processing system just like a computer
and mind receives, processes, transforms, stores and retrieves information.

Must Read: Thinking Class 11 Psychology Notes

Psychology Class 11 Chapter 1: Branches

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Various fields of specialization in psychology have emerged over the years which have been
comprehensively elucidated below-

Cognitive Psychology
 It investigates mental processes involved in the acquisition, storage, manipulation and
transformation of information received from the environment along with its use and
communication
 Major cognitive processes are attention, perception, memory, problem solving and
decision-making etc.

Biological Psychology
 Focuses on the relationship between the behavior and physical system, including the
brain and the rest of the nervous system, immune system and genetics

Neuropsychology
 Psychologists and Neuroscientists are working together and studying the role of
neurotransmitters which are responsible for neural communication in different areas of
the brain and associated mental functions.
 Comprehensive research is carried out on people with the normal functioning of the
brain and as well as on people with damaged brains by use of advanced and recent
technologies like EEG, PET etc.

Developmental Psychology
 It studies the physical, social and psychological changes that occur at different stages
and ages over life-span, from conception to old age.

Social Psychology
 This branch of Psychology explores how people are affected by their social
environments, how people think about the world around them and how they try to
impact people around them.
 Topics such as Prosocial behaviour, Attitude Formation, Prejudice are of keen interest to
social Psychologists

Cultural Psychology
  Lays emphasis on the role of culture in attaining a deep understanding of human
behaviour, thought and emotion.
 The main assumption of Cultural Psychology is that human behaviour is not only a
reflection of human-biological potential but also a product of culture.

Environmental Psychology
 It studies the interaction of physical factors such as temperature, humidity, pollution
and natural disasters on human behaviour.
 The influence of the physical arrangement of the workplace on health, the emotional
state is understood in environmental Psychology

Health Psychology
 It lays emphasis on the role of psychological factors such as anxiety, stress, fear in the
development, prevention and treatment of illness
 Areas of keen interest for a health Psychologist are coping with stress, promotion of
health-enhancing factors etc.

Clinical Psychology
 Clinical Psychology deals with the causes, treatment and prevention of some of the
major psychological disorders like anxiety, depression, eating disorders and chronic
substance abuse.

Counselling Psychology
 Counselling Psychology aims to improve everyday functioning by helping people solve
problems of their daily life and effectively cope up with challenging situations.

Industrial/Organisational Psychology
 This branch of Psychology mainly deals with both the employees and the organization
which have employed them. They are focused on training employees, improving work
conditions and developing selection criteria for employees.

Educational Psychology
 It lays emphasis on understanding how people of all ages understand and learn things.
Educational Psychologists mainly develop instructional methods and materials used to
train people both in Educational and work settings.
Sports Psychology
 Sports Psychology focuses on the application of Psychological principles to improve the
performance of athletes.

Other Emerging Fields of Psychology

Psychology has always been of multidisciplinary nature and because of this nature of
Psychology, various other fields of Psychology have emerged which are described as follows-

 Political Psychology
 Aviation Psychology
 Space Psychology
 Forensic Psychology
 Military Psychology
 Community Psychology
 Managerial Psychology

Development of Psychology in India

 Indian philosophical tradition was already known to practice various mental processes
and reflections on human consciousness, self, mind-body relations, and a variety of
mental functions. But when it comes to the modern study of the human mind, such
evolutionary study was highly influenced by the Western school of thought only.
 The first offical experiment with Modern Psychology in India happened in 1916 at the
Calcutta University where Dr. N.N. Sengupta initiated the first modern experiments on
Psychological fields.
 Departments of Psychology in the Universities of Mysore and Patna were other early
centres of teaching and research in psychology.
 Durganand Sinha in his book ‘Psychology in a Third World Country: The Indian
Experience’ categorises the evolution of Indian Psychology as the pre-independence
phase, and the 1960s phase.

Themes Of Research and Application

Themes that provide Direction to research and application of Psychology are mentioned as
follows-

 Psychology, like other sciences, attempts to develop principles of behaviour and mental
processes.
 Human Behaviour is a function of both the attributes of persons and environment
  Human Behaviour is caused
 Understanding of human behaviour is culturally constructed
 Human Behaviour can be controlled and modified through the application of
psychological principles.

Basic V/s Applied Psychology

 Basic Psychology provides us with theories and principles that form the basis of
application of Psychology
 Applied Psychology provides us with different contexts in which the theories and
principles derived from research can be meaningfully applied.

Must Read: Learning Class 11 Notes

Psychology And Other Disciplines

Psychology shares its knowledge with literature, art, science, commerce, music etc. Some of the
Major disciplines linked to the field of psychology are discussed below-

Music And Fine Art

Music and Psychology are complementary in nature which means that they go hand in hand as
they help in uplifting mood and productivity at work as well.

Architecture And Engineering

Psychology and Architecture go hand in hand as well. One of the important jobs of an architect
is to provide a physical space that satisfies their client mentally and aesthetically.

Mass Communication
Mass Communication is related to Psychology as well as the impact of media on the formation
of attitudes on children and their behaviour is a domain where both of these disciplines come
together.

 Other fields which are related to Psychology are mentioned below-

o Law
o Medicine
o Computer Science
o Philosophy
o Education
o Economics
Types of Psychologists At Work
Psychologists work at various human service areas and these are described below-

 Clinical Psychologists mainly deal with patients who suffer from severe psychological
disorders such as Depression, Schizophrenia, Anxiety, Eating Disorders etc.
 Counselling Psychologists help clients deal with everyday challenges and interpersonal
issues such as career problems, self-esteem issues, Relationship and family problems
etc.
 Organizational Psychologist Helps employees improve upon their overall well-being
along with their productivity and also they focus on making such a kind of workplace
environment which is very enriching for the employees.

Psychology In Everyday life

There is no denial about the fact that Psychology plays a crucial role in our everyday life.

 Helps in solving our day to day problems in very effective and efficient manner
 Principles and methods of Psychology help us in analysing and understanding our
relationship with others
 Helps us in attaining self-awareness and thus,that helps in improving our decision-
making
 Various methods and techniques of Psychology helps us in improving our learning and
memorising abilities
 Thus, Psychology indeed plays a crucial role in our lives.