NLCS JEJU, PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT
JANUARY - MARCH 2024
EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY CCA SESSION 1: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY In the first week of the Exploring Psychology CCA, we learnt a brief overview of what psychology is, and the history and origins of psychology. Definition of Psychology Psychology is often represented as the Greek symbol psi Ψ, meaning soul during the time of the ancient Greeks, thus, it is also referred to as the study of the soul. It is the scientific study of observable behaviour and mental processes. It seeks to understand how people think and act and encompasses a wide range of topics, from cognitive processes to social interactions and mental health. Behaviours are observable actions, while mental processes, also known as cognition, are internal thought processes. An example of a mental process can be memory or thinking, which we can easily observe in our everyday lives. Psychology is a very broad field, often broken down into several different branches. Each branch is centred on a specific subfield, and differs in terms of what it studies or what perspective it typically takes. All of these areas of psychology share the goal to help describe, explain, predict, and sometimes change how people behave and think. Among the various branches of psychology, the IB course focuses on the sociocultural approach, biological approach and cognitive approach. While pure psychology focuses on the pursuit of knowledge and the expansion of theoretical frameworks, applied psychology harnesses that knowledge to address practical challenges and improve human well-being.
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY During ancient times, it was the Greek philosophers, namely, Aristotle, who first thought about consciousness. He believed consciousness stemmed from the heart, as people without their heart or otherwise “soul”, would die. They pondered about the subject, engaging in many discussions from a philosophical point of view that formed the foundations of, and spurred the development of what we know today as ‘psychology.’ As scientific outlook was gradually developed, philosophy started losing its prominence, as did the soul. Psychology began to be defined as the ‘the study of mind’. During the 19th century, German psychologists Wilhelm Wundt and William James solidified psychology as a distinct field of study.