INTRO
Have you ever picked up a book and within the first two pages,
decided it wasn't going to be good? I have done it! And I know that many
others have done it as well. It’s not something to be proud of, though as a
writer you must write for the majority. It is crucial to make your story
interesting at the beginning, or your readers will not stick around to find
out how good it is.
How do you hook the reader to insure they continue reading? It’s
fairly simple actually, you need to incorporate and understand change.
psychology and you
The word psychology has had several different meanings from ancient to modern times. Here is its present definition:Psychology is the science that studies the behavior of organisms. This definition should guide you throughout your study of thisbook.
Three words in the definition merit special attention:(1) science, (2) behavior,
and (3) organisms. Modern psychology is considered a science because it bases its
conclusions on data, information obtained by systematic observations. The
research methods used by psychology are covered in chapter 2.
Behavior has three aspects: (1) cognitive processes, (2) emotional states, and
(3) actions. Cognitive processes refer to what an individual thinks. Emotional
states refer to what an individual feels. Actions refer to what an individual
does.
An organism is any living creature. Consequently, the behavior of dogs, rats,
pigeons, and monkeys can be legitimately included in the study of psychology.
Such organisms have indeed been subjects in psychology experiments. However,
traditionally the principal focus of psychology has been humans. When animals
are used in experiments, the implicit goal is often to explore how such basic
processes as learning and motivation, as studied in animals, can cast a light on our
understanding of human behavior.
It has been said that psychology has a long past and a short history. This statement
should be taken to mean that although psychology has its roots in philosophy, as a
scientific discipline psychology is only a little over 120 years old. As noted earlier,
the roots of psychology can be easily traced back about 2,400 years to ancient Greek
philosophers. However, the beginning of scientific psychology is usually associated
with the date 1879, the year that a German scientist named Wilhelm Wundt
founded the first psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany.
Modern psychology arose in the context of what are known as schools of
psychology. The concept of a school of psychology can be easily understood by
thinking of a school of fish. In this case the word school is used similarly to the
word group. A school, or group, of fish follows a leader fish. So it is with a school
of psychology. There is a leader and a group of followers. The school has a viewpoint and a set of important assumptions.
Today psychology is witnessing remarkable growth in quantitative terms. The number of
journals, number of books published, number of practicing psychologists, organizations of psychologists and their professional bodies, and differentiation of the discipline is really mind-boggling.
It is impossible to remember all the specialties and sub specialties of psychology. All this is really
impressive for new science. The growth of psychology in the developed nations of world and
developing countries, which have a history of colonization, show many parallels, if one goes by the
themes, problems, methods, and findings. A majority of Indian psychologists, for instance, have
dedicated their energy, time and money to replicate various phenomena in various combinations and
permutations, the results of which, fortunately or unfortunately, are neither read nor used by our
Indian colleagues in teaching or research. For our big brothers living in the developed countries this
effort lacks any value and remains unregistered. There are a few exceptions, which have been able to
receive some attention. On the whole the quality of research and publications is of mixed type (see for
details Misra, Prakash, & Varma, 1999 ; Pandey, 2000). At times that gives a feeling that all is well.
However, when we look for substance in terms of theoretical contribution, creativity or relevance the
psychologists from developing countries often have to suffer from serious discomfort. The mechanical, Euro-American model of the so called mainstream psychology, has little to offer in terms insights
in the realm of theory and or practice which can be reassuring and inspiring. We suffer from lack of
self-confidence, academic self worth, and often engage meaningless rote memorization of things
having limited resemblance with our life world. The questions of authentic understanding or growth
of knowledge are hardly addressed to because as a true scientist we limit ourselves to the" context of
justification" and the "context of discovery" remains ignored. The status quo is maintained. In the
name of doing science the intellectual courage needed for questioning, innovative thinking and
creativity is given a back seat. The rituals of the religion called science continue.
There is need to question psychology’s self understanding as a repository of knowledge that
explains the world yet is somehow detached from it. The alternative vision is recognizes the complexity, uncertainty and contextual specificity. It recognizes a world where knowledge is itself socially
constructed, fragmented, foundationless and validated by its usefulness rather than its scientific rigor
(Gergen, 1999; Kvale 1992). Our nature of being is embedded within historical and cultural processes. However, the extra-discursive, material and embodied aspects of our being also need attention (Nightingale & Cromby, 1999). The debates on the place of culture in psychology (Berry, 1999;
Misra & Gergen, 1993) and psychology in cultural context (European Psychologist, 2000: Gergen,
Gulerce, Lock, & Misra, 1996) are drawing attention of psychologists. The Asian Journal of Psychology (December 2000) has Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (2001) have published special issues
addressing the related concerns. The interface of Psychology and Culture is being explored by a
journal of the same name. . The use of qualitative methods is also increasing. These methods are
sensitive to culture and subjectivity and overcome the problem of power relations since they rely on
participative, cooperative and constructive processes in the research process. It is hoped that these
moves shall help to develop a human science of psychology in which cultural plurality will be
addressed more authentically.
abnormal behavior is a major public health problem. Depression is sometimes called the common cold of mental disability. Chronic anxiety in the form of
persistent worry is approximately as common as depression. About 1 percent of
adults suffer from schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder. This percentage translates into a figure approaching 2 million people in the United States alone. Conservatively, about one in ten adults have some kind of definable mental health
problem.
The toll on job performance and family life is considerable. Consequently, it
is of value to have some reliable information about abnormal behavior. This chapter defines abnormal behavior and describes some of the major pathological syndromes associated with it. The next chapter presents various kinds of therapy used
to treat mental disorders.
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