The Emergence of Psychology as a Diverse Field of Scientific Study

Contemporary psychology is regarded as one of the major and diversified field of psychology, which has been largely impacted by multiple historical perspectives. Psychology basically deals with certain assumptions regarding human behaviour and the way, through people interact with each other. 20^th Century has been marker as a major phase in the history of psychology as several denominations have taken place at that time. According to Smith, (2015) this is the time in which multiple questions regarding the intellectual identity of human being have been raised. However, this century has also marked for attaining major maturation along with spectacular growth of psychology. Therefore, psychology has engrossed considerable philosophical attention which is the key of discussing its key aspects from different perspectives. Enormous philosophical works have been executed at that time with the intention of exploring different psychological observations.

One of the most significant factors concerning the philosophy of psychology is the last half of 20th century. Thibaut, (2017) commented that in this time, the philosophers have started to initiate several researches to explore the theoretical implications of psychology and thereby prove it as a science. Therefore, from the very beginning, psychology is being considered as a diverse field of scientific study which intends to evaluate the decade of human behaviour. This paper intends to evaluate the history and philosophy of psychology. Card, (2017) observed that the ideas related to history of psychology will be presented. The paper will also analyse the significance of these ideas to prove the fact that history is one of the most significant braches of scientific implications. The role of both subjective experience and qualia in the psychology of contemporary times will also be discussed in the paper.      

The very concept of psychology has been originated during Aristotle’s De Anima, that is 4 century BC. However, Neisser, (2017) showed that rapid scientific revolution during 17^th century has been reformed by several changing concept of explanation. Such changing point of views have played a pivotal role in making reform in psychology by introducing new ideas and explanations. Still, 19^th century is one of the most significant phases, when different psychological explanations have taken place and during 20^th century, psychology has emerged as a complete science by involving new explanatory approaches. Psychology, in its simplest form is regarded as a study of psyche along with the attitude and behaviour of human being.  Csikszentmihalyi, (2014) discussed that during 17^th century, Christian Wolff has commercialized the term psychology as the study of human mind. There are two different aspects of psychology, which include rational and empirical. The way of observing attitude of others is regarded as empirical psychology. On the other hand, rational psychology is the way of interpreting observation from empirical psychology. One of the major aspects of rational psychology is that it is concerned with logic and reasoning (Winter & Reed, 2015).

Significance of Subjective Behavior in Psychology

According to Immanuel Kant, rational psychology is more durable than that empirical psychology. Kant has argued that mental content is the fundamental focal point of rational psychology. However, in the case of empirical psychology, mental content is not being considered. Kant has suggested that psychology can accelerate their status as an empirical science by executing the strategy of anthropology. With the assistance of this strategy, the activities of human being in realistic context can also be observed.

Psychology, in its simplest form is considered as a study of human behaviour. This is the mode of assessing the behavioural characteristic of human being. The psychology of a person can be referred as that kind of human mind which leads people to behave in a conventional way. Buss, (2015) commented that the scientific context of psychology is needed to be considered in this context. The rapid emergence of natural science during 18^th and 19^th century has been marked as a vital era, when expansion of knowledge has taken place. This era has prompted the practice of studying the psychological system and thereby understand the function of those systems. This was being considered as a mode of studying physiology which has supported in establishing the scientific base of psychology (Winter & Reed, 2015).

Hagger et al., (2015) highlighted by saying that prescientific Psychology and scientific psychology are referred as the greatest roots of psychology. It was the conventional belief of both Socrates and Plato, that mind is disconnected from human body and it is the mind which continues to sustain even after death. This innate point of view is regarded as a base of pre-scientific psychology. On the other hand, scientific psychology is more concerned with understanding the structure of human mind by using introspection technique.

Subjective behaviour is considered as a thinking of human min regarding a subject rather than any kind of object. The study of subjective behaviour stresses on excessive assessment of the mood, opinion and attitude of individual human being. Subjective behaviour, in its simplest form is referred as the feeling and expression of human mind that are clearer and concise (Sheehan & McConkey, 2015). The science stresses on the empirical approach, which according to Immanuel Kant, must be improved by integrating mental content. On the other hand, rational approach shades light on logical argument and reason. Thus, it can be said that, empirical research critically puts forth the discussion that knowledge is entirely based on the experience, which people gather in the course of their life. As the subjective behaviour comprises of clear and concise ideas, possessed by human mind and knowledge is gained from human experience. Thus, Winter & Reed, (2015) observed that it is quite evident that, the empirical process of gaining knowledge by experience is one of the major scientific approaches which support in the development of psychological foundations during 17^th century.

The Role of Qualia in Understanding Human Mind

Subjectivity is one of the integral parts of human experience. The subjective experience of a people comprises of love, taste, smell, likes, dislikes along with the point of view towards beauty and art. The subjective experience, in its simplest form can be referred as the philosophy which signifies that multiple subjective phenomena of human being is associated with a unique point of view. Fie instance, point of view of a person towards a book, his or her taste to a certain style of writing, choice of word while writing denote subjective experience of human being. Subjective experience is basically the product of human mind. Psychology, on a whole deals with the subjectivity which shows that social phenomena varies from person to person. The psychologists play a very important role in uncovering the psychological processes of human being. This study deals with the understanding of the feeling of individual human being which can differ from person to person along with culture to culture. Such psychological phenomena are culturally bound to provide psychological evidences. The psychologists arrange the variable of human feeling in such a manner which helps them to measure overall human experience. Therefore, it can be said that psychology is truly a science which deals with the measurement of human feeling.      

The underlying idea behind the scientific approach is that, knowledge must be acquired empirically by experiments and observations. The way of gathering knowledge through direct observation is considered as a strong foundation of science. In the same way, psychology also refers to the process of gathering knowledge about human behaviour by observing and assessing their activities. Therefore, subjective behaviour of human being plays a pivotal role in the way of proving psychology as a significant branch of science that is concerned with evaluating human behaviour (De Brigard et al., 2016).  

In the philosophy of psychology, Qualia is defined as a subjective and conscious experience of human being. This is basically considered as a quality or feeling which independently influence the behaviour of human being. In the philosophical context, qualia is generally considered as certain features of sensory experience which comprises of subsequent characteristic feature related to state of mind of human being (Brown, 2016). In addition to that, qualia sometimes also considered as the phenomenal properties of human experience. As psychology is concerned with the study of human mind, this phenomenal experience is highly critical in order to attain in-depth understanding regarding human mind. Knowledge about the scientific experience supports in assessing the perspective of a person towards his or her course of life.

Theoretical Frameworks in Psychology

Evidences are showing that qualia is a noteworthy mental state which is highly associated with that of experience, gathered by people during their course of life. Therefore, qualia serves as a strong basis of conscious experience. Thines, (2015) showed that this is highly equivalent with the notion of psychology as the way of observing the subjective behaviour of human being. This is the way, through which introspection method is also being carried out. This study of subjective behaviour serves as a basis of experimental psychology. Science is also based on gathering data by initiating certain experiments. Thus, it is evident that psychology is one of the major scientific approaches which deals with gathering important knowledge on human mind by experimenting human attitude and functionality (Hartshorne, 2014).   

Science is referred as the mode of executing knowledge and understanding regarding the social world with the assistance of certain systematic methodology. Psychology too is the mode of gathering knowledge regarding the human behaviour by applying certain theoretical framework. Certain discoveries and experiments also take place in the assessment of human mind. Thus, it can be said that psychology is a true a science of human mind.

There are certain theoretical frameworks, which serve as a basis to prove psychology as a significant branch of science. During 20^th century, behavioural approach had been invented by highlighting the fact that behaviour of human being is nothing but the outcome of apparent conditioning. As per this approach, the environment in which people are living play a significant role in shaping their behaviour by strengthening habits. Behavioural approach has nothing to do with the innate attitude of people (Miller et al., 2015). This approach emphasises the scientific technique of investigation. One of the most significant aspects of behaviourist approach is that it is concerned with the stimulus-response behaviour of human being which shows that human behaviour is learned which can be replaced by new behaviour. This theory also shows that observable thinks of human being must also be studied. This is the way, through which the functionality, behaviour and reaction of human being can also studied.  

According to Hamilton, (2015) from the behaviour, the interferences of human mind can be assessed. However, this is not the preliminary focal point of investigation. Still, human behavioural study deals with the assessment of learned behaviour of human being along with the way, through which behaviour is learned among people. Behaviourism generally perceive people as controlled by the subsequent environment. Classical and operant conditioning are two of the most significant aspects of behavioural approach.  Ivan Pavlov had invented the approach of classical conditioning which deals with learning behaviour through a subsequent process of association. Classical Conditioning, in its simplest terms is considered as the process, through which two different stimuli work together in order to produce a new behaviour. On the other hand, Meichenbaum, (2017) argued that operant conditioning shows both voluntary and involuntary behaviour. B.F Skinner had invented the very ideology of operant conditioning who showed that the fundamental motive of a person play a crucial role in generating behaviour among that people. Therefore, according to Skinner, behaviour generally being produces for a specific reason and there are three different techniques such as punishment, negative reinforcement and enforcement, which shape behaviour among people.

Cognitive approach is another vital branch of psychology which shows human mind as a processor of valuable information. During 20^th century, this approach had been invented for the sake of emphasising external behaviour. Unlike, behavioural approach which does not consider study of human mind, as an internal processor of information, cognitive approach puts ample stress on studying the mental process of people which can have a firm impact on their behaviour. Cognitive approach argued on the basis that, it is important for the psychologists to study the mediational process of people which is key of getting complete understanding (Barsalou, 2014). The cognitive approach is being initiated in accordance with the object. This is one of the major scientific technique of assessing one’s behaviour.

During 1960. The cognitive approach has revolutionised the notion of psychology by showing the very relationship between mental process and human behaviour. Learning is entirely based on the association, which are being formed in contrast to the behaviour. Therefore, information processing is very common among human mind. There are multiple processing systems, such as perception, short term memory and attention which are highly required in terms of processing the information available in environment (Lachman, Lachman & Butterfield, 2015). Such processing systems plays a major role in altering the information in a comprehensive manner.

The behaviourist approach only focused on the externally noticeable behaviour which can be measured through objective experience. However, this approach has not considered the innate behaviour of humans. On the contrary, cognitive approach shows the significance of assessing internal behaviour which is the key of gathering relevant data regarding human mind by using multiple experiential techniques.

Gestalt psychology is one of the major schools of thought which focused on behaviour and human mind. According to this psychology, human mind is not intended towards focusing on small or irrelevant components, rather human mind perceives objects as a part of a broader phenomenon along with more complicated system (Bloch, 2018). The notion of human sensation and perception are very important matter of consideration for Gestalt’s school of thought. This study has been founded during 20^th century which shows how human being tend to systematise multiple elements into a certain group. Thus, it can be said that, Gestalt psychology is entirely focused on structuring the perception of human mind. Phenomenology is one of the most significant aspects of Gestalt’s school of thought which focused on experience and consciousness of human mind. Thus, it is imperative to provide the people with real life experience which can help in promoting learning and development among them. The human brain is highly intended to make a comprehensive map of stimuli that causes experiences among them. This very process of making map, can be regarded as isomorphism (Buss, 2015).

According to Gestalt’s ideology, human mind keep the ability to make a map by integrating the elements of learning which helps them to initiate the entire process of learning in a systematic way. Factor of similarity is a critical aspect of Gestalt’s psychology which shows that assimilation of different ideas play a pivotal role in promoting the process of learning. This assimilation of multiple knowledge supports in accelerating the critical thinking skill of learners (Smith, 2015).

Observation and experimentation are the most important aspects of Gestalt’s school of thought. This is also based on multiple laws of nature. Science, too is based on observation and experimentation. Therefore, from the perspective of Gestalt’s School of Thought, it can be said that psychology is an important branch of science which is focused on experimentation of human mind and thus get durable knowledge regarding human attitude.                          

Therefore, based on the discussion, it can be concluded by saying that psychology is truly a vital part of science which deals with the observation and interferences of human mind. It is basically the study of human being. During 17^th century, psychology had been invented as a part of scientific evolution. However, the promptly changing explanatory practices during 20^th century has paved the way of developing psychology. Being a valuable branch of science, psychology deals with the assessment of personal evidence, such as the first-hand experience, shared by people. This assessment plays a pivotal role in understanding the inner personality of a person. Behaviourist approach is one of the most significant approaches of psychology which had been invented during 19^th century. This approach had modified the state of psychology into mathematical science which initiate experiments on the internal behaviour of human mind. On the contrary, cognitive approach shows in-depth assessment of the external behaviour of people in order to determine their behaviour. Gestalt psychology shows the tendency of human mind of perceive a certain rather than individual component. This supports in accelerating the critical thinking ability of people. Gestalt school of thought also determined the study of human mind. Therefore, it is worth to mention that, psychology is truly a science which deals with experimentation and observation.

Reference:

Barsalou, L. W. (2014). Cognitive psychology: An overview for cognitive scientists. Psychology Press.

Bloch, M. E. (2018). How we think they think: Anthropological approaches to cognition, memory, and literacy. Routledge.

Brown, S. (Ed.). (2016). Philosophy of psychology. Springer.

Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2017). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Psychology Press.

Buss, D. (2015). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Psychology Press.

Card, S. K. (2017). The psychology of human-computer interaction. CRC Press.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Toward a psychology of optimal experience. In Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 209-226). Springer, Dordrecht.

De Brigard, F., Giovanello, K. S., Stewart, G. W., Lockrow, A. W., O’Brien, M. M., & Spreng, R. N. (2016). Characterizing the subjective experience of episodic past, future, and counterfactual thinking in healthy younger and older adults. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(12), 2358-2375.

Hagger, M. S., Rebar, A. L., Mullan, B., Lipp, O. V., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. (2015). The subjective experience of habit captured by self-report indexes may lead to inaccuracies in the measurement of habitual action. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 296-302.

Hamilton, D. L. (2015). Cognitive processes in stereotyping and intergroup behavior. Psychology Press.

Hartshorne, C. H. (2014). The philosophy and psychology of sensation. WIPF and Stock Publishers.

Lachman, R., Lachman, J. L., & Butterfield, E. C. (2015). Cognitive psychology and information processing: An introduction. Psychology Press.

Meichenbaum, D. (2017). Changing conceptions of cognitive behavior modification: Retrospect and prospect. Routledge.

Miller, C. B., Furr, R. M., Knobel, A., & Fleeson, W. (Eds.). (2015). Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology. Oxford University Press.

Neisser, U. (2014). Cognitive psychology: Classic edition. Psychology Press.

Sheehan, P. W., & McConkey, K. M. (2015). Hypnosis and Experience (Psychology Revivals): The Exploration of Phenomena and Process. Routledge.

Smith, J. A. (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

Thibaut, J. W. (2017). The social psychology of groups. Routledge.

Thines, G. (2015). Phenomenology and the science of behaviour: An historical and epistemological approach. CRC Press

Winter, D. A., & Reed, N. (Eds.). (2015). The Wiley handbook of personal construct psychology. John Wiley & Sons.