PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMON SENSE: A main point of difference relates to the terminology employed in psychology. The reader as he goes through this volume will find that many of the terms employed in psychology are not different from those employed in everyday life. Examples of such terms are learning, remembering, motivation, need, personality etc. This often gives the impression to the reader that psychology is nothing but the use of common sense. This impression is sometimes also strengthened by some of the findings reported by psychologists. For example, when a textbook of psychology states, in a highly pompous manner that efficiency of learning depends on practice, the reader rightly wonders what is so profound about this statement. At the same time the reader also gets the opposite feeling that psychologists often indulge in unnecessary jargon trying to introduce complex explanations for very simple phenomena. Thus, it is often said that a psychologist tries to make a mountain of ...
What is Psychology: Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, according to the American Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes. The introductory part of psychology emphasizes on two aspects: 1. Psychology as a science A Science is defined not by what it studies but by how it studies. Psychologists like any other scientists systematically observe facts about human beings and organize these facts to arrive at generalizations. Psychology shares with other sciences certain aims, assumptions, ways of carrying out research and ways of building and modifying theories. 2. Psychology is a body of knowledge that can be applied to help solve a variety of human problems. In addition to the contribution in the area of research (developmental, social, experimental, physiological psychology), there are many other areas ...