Understanding Psychology: Concepts and Fields

Notions of Psychology

Definition: Etymologically, the word psychology is of Greek origin, derived from the substantive psyche = soul, and logos = reason, science, pensamiento. Originally, the "object of study is the soul."

Conceptual Definition: Psychology is the science of the mind and its processes.

Importance of Psychology Today

Today, psychology has experienced a major development and expansion. As a science that studies man, applications can be found in any field of human activity.

Its history dates back to the era of ancient Greece. Aristotle wrote a philosophical treatise entitled "About the Soul," but it is from the nineteenth century, according to positivist principles, that it has experienced rapid development.

"Positivism is a philosophical school necessitating assertions based on facts to arrive at truth; everything that cannot be demonstrated in the concrete facts of experience has no value."

Reasons for Contemporary Psychology's Development

The reasons explaining the development of contemporary psychology can be summarized as: the breakdown in traditional religions in the world today, accelerated life, and the normal development of all science.

In relation to the crisis of traditional religions, an absence was first noted of religious leaders capable of guiding individuals in their life projects. Formerly, it was customary to have a spiritual guide. Also, formerly, it was the custom to go to confession, an instance in which the person experienced a release from life's issues and received concrete advice or guidance. Currently, few people practice confession. This phenomenon is explained by many reasons, including the loss of credibility of religious figures themselves. Today, religion is something that belongs to the private sphere; it is a personal feeling. It is a fact that there are fewer religious vocations all the time.

It was once considered something unusual, and visiting a psychologist required great care.

Fields of Psychology Application

The main areas of application are identified, as psychology is relevant to every human being. These fields include education, advertising, industry, labor, and the forensic domain.

Education and Advertising Applications

• Education: Applied in the theory of teaching and learning.
• Advertising: A special area that includes the promotion of an object and therefore has a duty to persuade the person.

Psychoanalytic Psychology Defined

For psychoanalysis, psychology is defined as the science of the subconscious. Its creator is Sigmund Freud, a psychoanalyst and psychologist. He discovered the so-called subconscious, which is a state of consciousness present in dreams, slips, and lingual lapses. The subconscious is determinant in the behavior and personality of the subject; it represents the real self. All human behavior is directed by impulses coming from the subconscious. His psychology remains influential.

Psychoanalysis-oriented therapy aims precisely to interpret the signals mediated by hypnosis. According to this theory, all personality disorders and psychological pathology result from trauma experienced in the subject's past; i.e., it is a traumatic and tragic event that occurred sometime in the subject's past life.

Behavioral Psychology Defined

Behaviorism is a psychological doctrine from the mid-20th century (around 1950). Its principal figure is the North American psychologist Skinner. Positivistic psychology principles (facts) and empiricism (experience) hold that only what can be demonstrated in the concrete facts of experience has truth value.

A key event in this psychology is Pavlovian classical conditioning. The only thing verifiable through direct observation is conduct, which constitutes an object of study for psychology. The behaviorist psychologist has no means to rule on the existence or nonexistence of a spiritual substratum in humans; they cannot say whether there is a spiritual soul. In this sense, psychology loses its original object of study. If prior study was understood as the soul, with behaviorism we are facing a "soulless" psychology.