The term psychology is derived from two Greek words ‘psyche’ meaning soul and logos meaning science or study of a subject. Thus, initially psychology was a study of the soul or mind. But it has moved away considerably and established itself as a scientific discipline which deals with processes underlying human behavior and experience.
A discipline is defined both in terms of what it studies and how it studies; therefore, psychology is defined formally as a science which studies mental processes, experiences and behaviour in different contexts.
Psychology as a Discipline: Psychology seeks to understand and analyse how the mind works and how the mental processes result in different behaviours. It includes the process of observation of others and making points of view or our ways of understanding that influences our interpretations of their behaviours and experiences.
Psychologists emphasize on the role of self-reflection and self-knowledge in understanding human behaviour and experience. No matter the variations or the way a psychologist does an in depth observation about one’s behaviour, mental processes and reviews and that they are seeking to interpret and explain them in a scientific and verifiable manner.
Author: Pankhuri Pilania – Counselling Psychologist
