Foundations of Psychology

Essay by Manuels1999University, Bachelor'sB+, September 2008

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Foundations of PsychologyFoundations of PsychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. There is some tension between scientific psychology (with its program of empirical research) and applied psychology (dealing with a number of areas). Psychologists attempt to explain the mind and brain in the context of real life. In contrast neurologists utilize a physiological approach. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity including issues related to daily life-e.g. family, education, and work-and the treatment of mental health problems. In addition to dissecting the brain's implementation of elementary mental functions, psychology also attempts to understand the role these functions play in social behavior and in social dynamics, while incorporating the underlying physiological and neurological processes into its conceptions of mental functioning. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and application concerned with such areas as human development, sports, health, industry, media, law, and transpersonal psychology (,


Psychology has more than one foundation. It can be found in both biology and in philosophy. "Humans are complex creatures whose psychological experience lies at the intersection of biology and culture" (Kowalski & Westen, 2005). Psychology came to the forefront in early biological studies. People suffering from head trauma were the subjects of investigation into the correlation between the brain and physical responses. It was during these research studies that emotional responses were noticed in the subjects that could not recall the actual memory tied to the response rendered. This is when interest was sparked in the correlation between psychology and biology and further experiments began. According to (2007), "the most popularly used in the 1800's were called, structuralism and functionalism". The school of thought...