Definition of Psychology according to authors

Definition of Psychology according to authors

Many people have been the ones who have tried to provide an exact definition of the concept of psychology. However, over the years, different authors have deferred in their vision of psychology.

The validity of some can be affirmed in any way and refuting others, since each of them has marked part in the history of psychology.

Therefore, in this Psychology-online article, we present different Psychology definitions according to different authors.

You may also be interested: the origin of psychology: summary and index authors
  1. What is psychology and what is it for
  2. DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY ACCORDING TO ENTITIES
  3. Definition of Psychology according to authors

What is psychology and what is it for

According to SOS (2015) Psychology is a discipline of knowledge dedicated to the production of ideas, instruments, methods and procedures of action and intervention that deal with the psychological and the phenomena of behavior and human experience. Try to explain the behavior In an integral sense and in its different contexts, to predict and control the subject of the subject.

Psychology is a science with a wide variety of areas and approaches. It is considered to be composed of a social part and a natural part. This science is considered by scholars as a young science, since its study began relatively few years ago.

Broadly speaking, we could say that psychology intends to help people to handle your life effectively. However, in our society there is still a marking taboo when visiting psychologists, because unfortunately it is still considered that those who resort to psychology are because they present mental problems.

DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY ACCORDING TO ENTITIES

There are two great entities whose definitions and classifications are currently used as referents:

What is psychology according to the APA

Psychology is about study of mind and behavior. It is a diverse scientific discipline that includes several main research branches, as well as several subarent research and applied psychology. Research implies observation, experimentation, tests and analysis to explore biological, cognitive, emotional, personal and social processes or stimuli that underlie human or animal behavior.

What is psychology according to WHO

WHO does not provide an exact definition of psychology, but defines mental health. To do this, it defines it as a state of mental and psychological well -being. It determines that its objective is to improve the mental health of people and society as a whole, promoting mental well -being, preventing mental disorders and protecting human rights

Definition of Psychology according to authors

On the other hand, the different currents of psychology have seen this discipline from different perspectives. Some of the most relevant authors understood psychology as follows:

What is psychology according to Freud

Freud exceeded the belief linked to the conception of behavior disorder as an expression of a brain disease. That is, he linked the primary interactions of a child with the subsequent development of behavior problems. Focused the basis of psychology on psychoanalysis, which focused on the repression of instincts as the only guilty of the development of future pathologies. Here you can read more about Sigmund Freud and his theory of psychoanalysis.

What is psychology according to Plato

Plato started from the idea that there was no evil and that therefore No one could be bad by nature. For him, a person was evil as a result of bad habits or for a bad education. He was the first to divide the soul into three parts, a rational part, another passionate and finally a hedonist.

What is psychology according to Wundt

Wundt's main objective was to understand consciousness as experienced and, in turn, understand the mental laws that govern people.

The name by which this author called what is considered the first psychological school was voluntarism. For Wundt, the experimental psychology It could only be used to understand immediate consciousness, so, to understand the higher mental processes and their products, naturalistic observation was required.

What is psychology according to James

According to James, the scientific and philosophical approach should be used in the study of behavior and thought of man. He affirmed that all aspects of man could be known through the scientific investigation. This author considered that if an idea worked, it was valid. That is, the ultimate criterion to judge an idea should be the usefulness of the same.

What is psychology according to Ebbinghaus

The psychologist Ebbinghaus made a great contribution to psychology, which marked a before and after as far as his point of view is concerned. This author studied the Learning and Memory Processes at the same moment they were produced and not in their subsequentness, which was as they had been studying so far. He was one of the first scientists to use the experimental method within psychology, since contrary to what Wundt stated, he demonstrated that memory was a superior psychological process capable of being measured experimentally.

What is psychology according to Titchener

For this author, psychology was fundamentally experimental, So all of the above to this version did not have to be considered psychology. He was the founder of structuralism.

Titchener thought the same as Wundt that psychology should study the immediate experience, that is, consciousness. So he defined this concept as the total sum of mental experiences and defined the mind as the experiences accumulated throughout life. Also established as objectives for psychology the determination of what, how and why mental life. Defines psychology as Analytical study of the human mind, adult, normal, generalized, which is carried out through introspection.

What is psychology according to Watson

Watson discovered the objective psychology, where he denied both the use of introspection and any type of explanation of behavior based on mentalism. Determined the objective of psychology as prediction and behavior control.

What is psychology according to Piaget

Piaget is considered the father of the Evolutionary Psychology, which is based on the study of people's psychic development from birth to old age. For him, psychology is based on the evolution of our knowledge about the joy and development of thought. In the following article you will find Piaget's learning theory.

What is Psychology according to Skiner

This author is one of the best known within the current behavioral psychology, which assumes that all behaviors come as responses to certain stimuli in the environment or from previous experiences in the history of the individual who carries it out. Here you can read the Burrhus Frederic Skinner theory.

What is psychology according to McDougal

For this author, psychology could be better defined as positive behavior science of living creatures. He focused on a psychology based on the methodological behaviorist school.

What is psychology according to Briggman

Briggman proposed that any existing concept should be defined, that is, operational definitions, should unite theoretical terms to observable phenomena. This is what was subsequently called as Operationism.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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