Definition,

Nature &
branches of
Psychology

Dr. Mirrat Gul Butt

Miss Harrum Butt
 What Is Psychology?
According to:
E G. Boring “Psychology is the study of human nature. It started with the advent of Adam,
the first man on the earth, who looked at himself and the world around with curiosity and bore
many questions of what, how and why. The primary attempts to answer such questions led the
mankind to think over and reason our with logic.”
Psychology as a study of human nature evolved from Philosophy. It as the youngest of all
sciences. It has a long past but a short history (Ebbinghaus). Its scientific foundations have
been laid on the behavior of living organism in the late nineteenth century.

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• In order to become a Scientific discipline, its most acceptable definition has been
achieved after the critical evaluation of the following definitions:
I. Psychology as a Science of Soul.
II. Psychology as a Science of Mind.
III. Psychology as a Science of Consciousness.
IV. Psychology as a Science of Behavior.
• Psychology as a Science of Soul was the first definition made by Greek
I. Soul is immaterial.
II. Soul is invisible
III. Soul cannot be observed and studied objectively in laboratory.
IV. Soul is eternal and immortal and survives even after the death.
V. All human efforts have failed to conduct experiments on soul to see. what is it like? It has
been associated with the blind faith of religion.
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 Nature of Psychology
• Psychology is the scientific study and practical application of observable behavior
and mental processes of organisms. Psychology differs from other social sciences
such as: Sociology, History, or Economics, because psychology specifically deals
with the study of an individual.
• There has been a long discussion among the scholars and psychologists on the
acceptance of psychology as a science and its nature as scientific. The observation
and concluding remarks of the famous authority N.L. Munn may be cited as a solid
evidence for this purpose.
• He writes "Psychology is science and the properly trained psychologist is a
scientific, or at least a practitioner who uses scientific methods and information
resulting from scientific investigation."
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Branches of Psychology
•General psychology
•Abnormal psychology
•Social psychology
•Child psychology
•Developmental psychology
•Clinical psychology

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 General
psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior,
according to the American Psychological
Association. It is the study of the mind, how it
works, and how it affects behavior.
The APA adds that it “embraces all aspects of the
human experience, from the functions of the brain
to the actions of nations, from child development
to care for the aged.”

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 Abnormal Psychology
• Under this definition of abnormality, a person’s trait, thinking or behavior is
classified as abnormal if it is rare or statistically unusual.
• Abnormal psychology focuses on the patterns of emotion, thought, and
behavior that can be signs of a mental health condition. Rather than the
distinction between normal and abnormal, psychologists in this field focus on
the level of distress that behaviors, thoughts, or emotions might cause.
• If a behavior is creating problems in a person's life or is disruptive to other
people, then this would be an "abnormal" behavior. In such cases, the behavior
may require some type of mental health intervention.

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 Social psychology

• Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand how social influences impact human
behavior. It seeks to explain how feelings, behavior, and thoughts are influenced by the actual,
imagined or implied presence of other people.
• A social psychologist looks at group behavior, social perception, non-verbal behavior, conformity,
aggression, prejudice, and leadership. Social perception and social interaction are seen as key to
understanding social behavior.

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 Child psychology
• This particular branch focuses on the mind and behavior of children from prenatal development
through adolescence.
• Child psychology deals not only with how children grow physically, but also seeks to better
understand their mental, emotional, and social development as well.
• Children's psychology encompasses the five stages of child development: newborn, infant, toddler,
preschool, and school age.

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 Developmental psychology
• This is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that a person experiences over the
life span, often referred to as human development.
• It focuses not only on infants and young children but also teenagers, adults, and older people.
• Factors include motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language, emotions,
personality, self-concept, and identity formation.
• It also looks at innate mental structures against learning through experience, or how a person’s
characteristics interact with environmental factors and how this impacts development.
• Developmental psychology overlaps with fields such as linguistics.

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 Clinical psychology
• Clinical psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in order to understand, predict and
relieve problems with adjustment, disability, and discomfort. It promotes adaption, adjustment, and
personal development.
• A clinical psychologist concentrates on the intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological,
social, and behavioral aspects of human performance throughout a person’s life, across varying
cultures and socioeconomic levels.
• Clinical psychology can help us to understand, prevent, and alleviate psychologically-caused
distress or dysfunction, and promote an individual’s well-being and personal development.
• Psychological assessment and psychotherapy are central to the practice of clinical psychology, but
clinical psychologists are often also involved in research, training, forensic testimony, and other
areas.

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Thank you