Psychology is a field of knowledge about the inner world of animals and humans. There are several stages in the development of psychological science: about the soul, about consciousness, about the psyche, about behavior.
It was singled out as an independent science from philosophy only in the second half of the nineteenth century, thanks to the discovery made in 1879 by W. Wundt, the organizer of the first experimental laboratory of psychology.
The science that studies psychological patterns performs the following tasks:
- understanding the essence of mental phenomena;
- managing them;
- application of acquired skills to improve the efficiency of different branches of practice;
- is the theoretical basis for the work of the psychological service
Main methods of psychological science currently used:
- gathering information through observations, studying the results of activities (tests, surveys, studying documentation);
- data processing (statistical analysis);
- psychological impact (training, discussion, suggestion,relaxation, persuasion)
The object of psychology is the sum of different carriers of psychological phenomena, the basis of which is the activity, behavior, relationships of people in small and large social groups.
The subject is the patterns of functioning and development of the psyche of animals and humans.
Branches of psychology
Currently, about 40 separate disciplines and directions are included in the psychological sciences:
- zoopsychology examines the specifics of the psyche of animals;
- child psychology is associated with the study of the development of the child's psyche;
- social pedagogy studies the patterns of personality formation in the process of education and training;
- labor psychology analyzes the features of human labor activity, patterns of formation of labor skills and abilities;
- medical psychology considers the specifics of the patient's behavior, the work of a doctor, develops psychological methods of psychotherapy and treatment;
- legal psychology examines the behavior of participants in a criminal case, the characteristic features of the behavior of a criminal;
- economic psychology is aimed at analyzing the image, psychology of advertising, management, business communication;
- military psychology examines the behavior of people during hostilities;
- pathopsychology analyzes mental disorders.
Consciousness and psyche
Science that studies psychological patternstraining and education, is associated with mental phenomena:
- cognitive, emotional, motivational, volitional processes;
- creativity, joy, fatigue, sleep, stress;
- temperament, personality orientation, character
The correct selection of techniques and development methods depends on how deeply they are considered.
The science that studies the psychological patterns of education and upbringing depends on the specifics of the human body, on the functioning of the cerebral cortex. It highlights:
- sensory zones that process and receive information from receptors and sense organs;
- motor zones that control human movements;
- associative zones used for information processing.
Psychology as a science
The science that studies psychological patterns, literally means "the science of the soul." Its history goes back to the distant past. In the treatise "On the Soul" for the first time, Aristotle put forward the idea of the inseparability of the living body and soul. He singled out the unreasonable and reasonable part of the human soul. He divided the first into vegetative (vegetative) and animal. In the rational part, Aristotle noted several levels: memory, sensations, will, reason, concepts.
The term "psychology" was introduced by Rudolf Goklenius in 1590 to denote the science of the living soul. The term received general recognition only in the 18th century after the appearance of the works of Christian Wolff "Rationalpsychology”, “Empirical psychology”.
Stages in the development of science
Let's consider the main periods of the formation of psychological science. At the first stage, which lasted from the time of the existence of Ancient Greece until the Renaissance, the soul was considered as a subject of reasoning for theologians and philosophers. At this stage in the development of psychology, the understanding of the soul was the subject of psychological knowledge.
The second stage, which began in the 17th century, saw psychology as the science of consciousness. Gradually, instead of the term "soul" began to use "consciousness". At this time period, the processes of self-knowledge by a person were put forward as the main scientific problem.
The third stage was in the twentieth century. Modern psychological science conducts experiments, observes human behavior, reactions, using objective methods of analysis and recording of external reactions, as well as human actions.
Currently, the fourth stage is taking place, in which psychology is considered as a science that studies objective manifestations, patterns, mechanisms. Psychological sciences today put forward the psyche as a natural phenomenon, single out the psyche of an animal and a person as a special case.
The object of this science is a person who is involved in various relationships with the biological, physical, social world, is the subject of cognition, activity, communication.
Modern psychology
Currently, psychological sciences can be considered as scientific studies of behavior and mental internal processes, the practical use of the knowledge gained.
The main task of this science is to consider the psyche as a property of the brain, which is expressed in the subjective reflection of the surrounding world.
Among the main tasks that pedagogical and psychological sciences are currently solving are:
- study of structural (qualitative) features of mental processes as reflections of reality;
- analysis of the appearance and improvement of mental phenomena in connection with the objective features of people's life and activities;
- consideration of the physiological mechanisms that underlie mental processes, since without mastering the mechanisms of higher nervous activity it is impossible to apply and improve them
Educational Psychology
The development of psychological science led to the formation of educational psychology. She is engaged in the study of psychological patterns and characteristics of the processes of upbringing and education of children and adolescents. Its tasks include consideration of the processes of assimilation of certain knowledge, the formation of skills and abilities in accordance with the demands of school education. In addition, psychological science and education is responsible for substantiating the techniques, methods, methods of education and training, as well as for issues related to preparing students for practical activities.
Child psychology examines the specifics of the psyche of children of different ages. Its task is to consider the process of formation of the personality of the baby, his mental development, memory, interests, thinking, motives of activity.
There is also a psychology of work, which sets itself the task of analyzing the psychological characteristics of labor activity in order to improve industrial training.
Psychological science and education involve a serious study of issues related to the organization of the workplace, the psychological characteristics of labor operations in various activities.
Engineering psychology, which is actively developing at the present time, concerns the problem of the correlation between the mental capabilities of a person and the requirements of machines.
Psychology of art, which studies the psychological characteristics of creative work in different types of art (in plastic arts, painting, music) and the specifics of the perception of works of art, analysis of their influence on the development of the human personality.
Pathopsychology studies disorders and disturbances of mental activity in various diseases, resulting in the development of optimal methods of treatment.
Sports psychology deals with the study of the psychological characteristics of different sports, the analysis of memory, perception, emotional processes, volitional qualities. The socio-psychological sciences have not only theoretical but also practical significance. This is because they are associated with the tasks of rationalizing various types of human activities.
Problems of psychological scienceaffect all spheres of human activity. Psychology allows you to solve practical problems, improve life and human activity.
Classification of sciences according to Kedrov B. M
Academician BM Kedrov placed this science in the center of the "triangle of sciences". At the top, he placed the natural sciences, the lower left corner assigned to the social sciences, and the lower right - to the philosophical branches (logic and epistemology). Between the sciences of nature and the philosophical sciences, the scientist placed mathematics. Kedrov assigned a central place to psychology, showing that it is capable of uniting all groups of sciences.
The main psychological sciences are related to social disciplines that study human behavior. The social sciences include psychology, social psychology, sociology, political science, economics, ethnography, anthropology.
Psychology is strongly connected with the natural sciences: physics, biology, physiology, mathematics, medicine, biochemistry. At the intersection of these sciences, related areas appear: psychophysics, psychophysiology, neuropsychology, bionics, pathopsychology.
Psychological features of science determine its place in the system of sciences. At present, the historical mission of psychology is to integrate different areas of human knowledge. It combines the social and natural sciences into one concept.
In recent years, connections between psychology and technical disciplines have been growing, related sciences have appeared: ergonomics, aviation and space psychology, engineeringpsychology.
The subject of psychological science connects applied and theoretical disciplines that develop on the borders with the sciences of man, nature, society.
Such a development can be explained by the demands of the practical activities of society. As a result, new areas of psychological science are being created and developed: space, engineering, educational psychology.
The use of physical methods in modern psychology contributed to the emergence of experimental psychophysics, psychology. Currently, there are about a hundred different branches of psychology.
The basis of modern psychology is general psychology, which studies the general laws, mechanisms and patterns of the psyche. It includes experimental studies and theoretical points.
The human psyche is the subject of some industries:
- in genetic psychology, hereditary mechanisms of behavior and psyche are considered, their connection with the genotype;
- in differential psychology, they analyze individual differences in the psyche of different people, the features of their appearance, the algorithm of formation;
- in developmental psychology, they consider the patterns of formation of the psyche of a he althy person, as well as the characteristics of the psyche of each age period;
- in child psychology, a change in consciousness, mental processes of a growing child, as well as conditions for accelerating these processes are considered;
- in educational psychology, patterns of formation of a child's personality in the process of education and training are analyzed.
Modern psychology is characterized by differentiation, which gives rise to its division into various branches. They may differ significantly from each other, despite the similar subject matter.
Important aspects
Psychological counseling on a variety of problems (relationships in the class team, family troubles, learning difficulties) is the direct task of a school psychologist. Also, among the areas of practical psychology, psychotherapy and correction will be singled out, aimed at providing specific assistance to a person to remove the causes of his violations, deviations in behavior.
Life psychology
It is not a science, it is a worldview, views, beliefs, ideas about the psyche. Everyday psychology is based on the generalization of everyday experience of people, a particular person. It is an antagonism to scientific psychology, but, despite this, there are mutual connections between them. For example, they are expressed in the following moments:
- are engaged in the study of the personality of one person;
- everyday information often becomes the starting point, the basis for the formation of scientific ideas and concepts;
- scientific knowledge contributes to the solution of various psychological life problems.
The importance of observations in educational psychology
They represent a purposeful and systematic fixation of specific psychological facts in the normal conditions of everyday life. There are certain requirements fororganization of scientific observation of the child:
- drawing up a sequence of actions;
- fixing the results in the observation diary;
- summing up.
The most important requirement for the organization of observation is to provide conditions in which the child does not know that he has become the object of a psychologist's research.
In this case, the specialist will be able to collect facts without distortion, which will become a condition for obtaining an objective picture of the study.
The disadvantages of this technique is the passive role of the school psychologist: minimal efficiency, slight repetition, inaccuracy, difficulty in analyzing and highlighting the necessary psychological facts.
In modern psychology, the relevance of self-observation is not denied, but this method is given a secondary role. For example, it can become a source of additional information for the subsequent modification of experimental methods. Self-observation is not a separate technique, since no one can refute or confirm the results presented by a person (schoolchild, adult). The information obtained in such a case is devoid of scientific content.
In modern psychology, there are two variants of the experiment: natural and laboratory. The advantages of the second method lie in the active position of the researcher, which gives such an experiment positive characteristics:
- mobility;
- repeatability.
The researcher does not need to wait for the manifestation of the necessary facts, he himself creates the situation,causing the analyzed psychological process. The use of modern measuring instruments gives accuracy and reliability to laboratory psychological research.
This type of surveillance also has its negative features. For example, a child knows that he has become an object of study, so the naturalness of his behavior disappears. The results of such studies need to be tested in vivo to confirm the findings.
A natural experiment is similar to observation, but it has an active position of the researcher. The school psychologist organizes activities for the subject in such a way that the necessary psychological qualities and characteristics arise. Psychological and pedagogical experiment is a kind of natural experiment, it allows teachers to solve educational and educational tasks.
Conclusion
In his work, a school psychologist tries to use a variety of methods for studying schoolchildren: tests, questionnaires, conversations. The most common method in educational psychology is the questioning. To obtain an objective picture, the psychologist must choose questionnaires in which the questions are understandable to students.
Otherwise, the results will be completely crossed out, they will not give an objective picture. Children, taking into account their age characteristics, can be offered two options for questionnaires: closed and open. The first types are convenient for analysis, but they will not give the researcher new information. An open survey allows a psychologist to obtain a significant amount of useful information, but forthe processing of questionnaires takes a considerable amount of time.
The conversation is used during the initial acquaintance with the child in order to establish contact, clarify some information necessary for subsequent diagnosis.
