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Psychology and its Development (evolution of the term psychology)

Gradual evolution of the term psychology:


1.        Etymologically the word ’ Psychology’ has been derived from the two Greek words’ Psyche’ means ‘Soul ’ and ‘Logos’ means ‘science’ or ‘study of’. Thus, the meaning of the word’ Psychology’ is the science of Soul.

Ancient Greece like Aristotle and Plato believed that Psychology is the science of soul.  Rudolf Goeckle used the word psychology for the first time as a separate subject in 1950. In the beginning Psychology was a branch of Philosophy. Psychology becomes an independent subject since 16th century. Soul is invisible and we cannot have direct experience. The soul is an abstract entity and is beyond our study. Thus, the concept of Psychology as the ‘science of soul’ did not remain popular and was rejected.

2.        In the 18thcentury psychology was defined as the science of mind’. Descartes defined psychology as the science of mind. Later on this too was rejected as the mind itself was equally vague like that of the soul and it could not determine and objectively study.

3.        Afterwards Psychologists like William James and William Wundt defined psychology as the science of consciousness. Consciousness goes to mean immediate awareness of the mind. We are aware of what happens in the conscious mind. We can report it and study it reliable on the scientific basis. But even this meaning of Psychology as the science of consciousness was discarded by Philosophers on the ground that it does not include the sub-conscious and un-conscious activities of the mind. It was further made known that un-conscious occupies the larger part of mind to which attention needs to be directed. Sigmund Freud, the father of un-conscious school of Psychology [father of school psycho-Analysis] rejected this concept as there are other parts of consciousness like un-consciousness and sub-consciousness.

4.        From the 19th century onwards, with the advent of the modern era of scientific investigation and thought, the Behaviorism Psychologists like J.B Watson, Pillsbury and Mc Dougall began to define Psychology as the science of the behavior of an organism.

The latest and the modern concept of psychology is the science of behavior and experience. The term behavior includes all the activities both internal and external, Cognitive, Conative and affective aspects of both human and animal. Behavior concerns with all the segments of human mind-conscious, sub-conscious and un-conscious. Behavior is an action that can be observed objectively. Thus, Psychology includes all the behavior of Human beings as well of animals, of Normal as well as Abnormal and of Children as well as of Adults.

Definitions of Psychology:

1. According to Pillsbury,” Psychology is the science of human behavior”.

2. Crow and Crow,” Psychology is the study of human behavior and human relationships”.

3. Mc Dougall,” Psychology is the positive science of conduct and b
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