What is psychology? Explain the contribution of psychology in education.

 Que : 1. What is psychology? Explain the contribution of psychology in education.

Answer: According to Raeburn- Psychology started its life as a part of philosophy in the time of Aristotle. From that time onwards, it was discussed as a part of philosophy for hundreds of years. But as Raeburn has written- “A change has taken place in the modern era. Psychologists have gradually separated their science from philosophy.”

The meaning of psychology can be understood in the following way-

According to Watson- “Psychology is the definite science of behaviour.”

According to Woodworth- “Psychology is the scientific study of the actions of a person in relation to the environment.”

According to Skinner- “Psychology studies the processes of an organism in all kinds of circumstances of life. Processes or behaviour mean all kinds of activities, adjustments, actions and expressions of an organism.”

If we analyse the views of the above philosophers, we get the following facts about psychology as a definite science-

(1) Psychology is a positive science.

(2) Psychology studies both physical and social environment.

(3) Psychology studies not only human behaviour but also animal behaviour.

(4) Psychology studies the environment which affects the human sense organs and the human reacts to the environment through his motor organs.

(5) Psychology studies the human being considering him as a being with mind and body. In other words, psychology considers the human being as a psycho-physical being.

(6) Psychology studies all cognitive activities such as memory, imagination, sensation etc., emotional activities such as crying, laughing, getting angry etc. and action activities such as speaking, walking, moving around etc.

Definitions of Psychology:

During the long development journey of psychology, psychologists and philosophers contemplated and determined the nature of psychology. Major scientists have defined psychology in the following way-

According to Skinner- “Psychology is the science of behavior and experience."

Boring, Langfeld and Weld- “Psychology is the study of human nature."

According to Garrison and others- “Psychology is directly related to human behavior."

Nature of Psychology:

It is clear that psychology is a science because all those elements are present in the subject matter of psychology, on the basis of which any subject can be placed in the category of science. The nature of psychology is called scientific because the following major elements of science are found in psychology-

1. Scientific methods- Any subject can be called science only when the study methods of that subject are scientific. Most of the methods of psychology are scientific. In addition to the experimental method, observation method, statistical method, mathematical method, psychological method etc. are used in the study of problems of psychology. Since the problems of psychology are studied by scientific methods, the subject matter of psychology is scientific and this subject is science.

2. Authenticity- The second important element of considering any subject as science is authenticity. The subject matter of psychology is authentic because its problems are studied by scientific methods.

3. Objectivity- To consider any subject as science, it is necessary that there should be objectivity in it. Objectivity means that when many researchers are studying a problem and all of them reach the same conclusion, then it can be said that the conclusions obtained are objective. The problems of psychology and related events are studied in their equilibrium form and the study is done by controlling the effects on the results of the researcher. The researcher takes the help of many techniques for control, hence the results obtained from the study of the problems of psychology are objective.

4. Predictive Ability- For any subject to be considered a science, it is necessary to have the ability to predict. Predictive ability means to tell on the basis of studying the behavior of any person how his behavior will be in the future. This prediction can be made only when the study is completely scientific. Since the problems of psychology are studied scientifically through scientific methods, predictions can also be made on the basis of these studies.

5. Universality- Any subject can be considered a science only when its principles and rules are universal. If the principles and rules of any subject are studied through scientific methods and these principles and rules are authentic, objective and have the ability to predict, then they are definitely universal as well. Since the principles and rules of psychology are studied through scientific methods and the qualities of authenticity, objectivity and prediction are found in its subject matter, therefore its principles and rules are also universal.

All these five elements of science are present in the subject matter of psychology, so it can be said that psychology is a science. This subject which studies behaviour falls under the category of pure science.

In the words of James Drever, “Psychology is a pure science which studies human and animal behaviour