Psychology - History

The discipline of social psychology began in the United States at the dawn of the 20th century. The first published study in this area was an experiment in 1898 by Norman Triplett on the phenomenon of social facilitation. During the 1930s, many Gestalt psychologists, most notably Kurt Lewin, fled to the United States from Nazi Germany. They were instrumental in developing the field as something separate from the behavioral and psychoanalytic schools that were dominant during that time, and social psychology has always maintained the legacy of their interests in perception and cognition. Attitudes and small group phenomena were the most commonly studied topics in this era.

The Pastor and Developmental Psychology

Psychology generally has been described as a "discipline with a long past but a very short history" (Schlesinger et al., 1976, p.8). This popular aphorism is meant to convey two meanings. Firstly psychological problems date back to antiquity and secondly the subject, in the sense of being an independent academic discipline is a recent development. The discipline is however a collection of subfields. Although each has its unique characteristics and requirements, some are intertwined, interrelated or interwoven, the sum total of which might reasonably be called psychological studies rather than psychology (Dandoff, 1987).

Although many will argue that clinical or counseling psychology should be a must for pastors, it would be farfetched to state that I am sinking in the quick sand of subjectivity to present a case for development psychology "a branch of psychology which examines the biological, social and intellectual development of people from before birth throughout the life-course" (Cambridge Encyclopedia, p.339). A notable strength of developmental psychology is that it cuts across several areas like attachment, educational psychology or Piagetian psychology.

Top Psychology Careers

Psychologists are important professionals in the health service field that plays a major role in providing mental health care to patients in hospitals, clinics or private settings. They use scientific methods to study the human mind and work mainly with people who are mentally ill. They help people find ways of functioning better, for example- guide and train people to handle stress in the workplace.

Psychologists work in many different settings. The primary employment settings are academic (university and college), educational (elementary and secondary schools, business and industry, and other human service settings. There many psychologists who work individually with clients, while other treats patients with a team of professionals.

Classes to Take in Psychology

So you've decided to make your career in Psychology? Here are the different psychology classes and courses you need to take to meet your psychology degree requirements.

The preparation for taking a psychology degree begins from before you apply to the different universities for your admission into graduate school. When the graduate admissions committees consider applications for students, they are really interested in students who have taken certain courses while at the undergraduate level.

What is Psychology?

Having a good grasp of what psychology is all about is essential for anybody wanting to explore the topic in greater depth. Now this may sound like a really obvious thing to state but psychology is one of those terms that is often banded around without any real consideration as to its actual meaning.

 

A classic case in point being the usual response you get from people when you tell them that you teach psychology; namely, "I better be careful what I say", or "so do you know what I'm thinking then?" I know I shouldn't but my stock reply to these reactions tends to be "Absolutely" and "Not at all...but then I would say that, wouldn't I"

Psyche and Logos

From two Greek words: psyche, which means the mind or the soul and logos, which means study, the science of Psychology has been studied and defined by many people throughout the ages. Hilgard, Morgan, Silverman, and Schlesinger are just a few.

A careful analysis of their foregoing definitions of psychology reveals common points: Psychology is the scientific study of the behaviors of living organisms; the term behavior must not be solely attributed to man's physical reactions and observable behavior; and thoughts, feelings, and attitudes are also connected to the term behavior.

You Can Study at Home - Psychology and Counselling

Introduction - Present Scenario

With the type of hectic life we all are living, the tension related with our work seems to be escalating and leading to frustrations at the end of it. Every next person is addicted or depressed of something. Though the living standards have improved but many people are still not happy and living constant stressful life.

 
The rise in these types of situations has ultimately shown an increase in demand of psychologists and counselors. In fact in many countries the requirement for psychologists has boomed and expected to boost considerably in coming years.