Basic Principles of

Psychology for
Nursing Students

Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi
[Link]., Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer in Psychology,
Department of Allied Health Sciences,
Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research
(Deemed to be University).

Dr. M.V. Sudhakaran

Associate Professor,
School of Social Science,
Tamil Nadu Open University.

ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED

© Authors
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First Edition : 2018

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 Foreword

I consider it a great privilege to write a foreword to this book entitled “Basic Principles of
Psychology for Nursing Students.”
The textbook complies all the essential chapters like biology of behaviour, cognitive process,
personality development, motivation principles, mental health development, and psychology and
psychological assessment. It has been dealt with in simple English comprehensively and introduction
of the concept of instant assessment through MCQs at the end of each chapter is quite inviting for the
reader.
I am sure that while it would benefit the Nursing students a lot, other students of Allied Health
Sciences can also use this as a reference book. Principles of psychology is important for every student
in a healthcare setting.
I wish to congratulate the author Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi on her effort.

Dr. P.V. Vijayaraghavan

Vice-chancellor

Writing books for students is an art, that too in an area which is important not only for their
educational qualification, but also for building human character. In an era, when stress and
psychological aberrations play key roles in determining the quality of life of the youth, the effort of
Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi to write a book on “Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students” is
laudable.
The end-to-end coverage of knowledge dissemination through this book encompasses all aspects
of general and clinical psychology in 20 chapters on a block-based approach. The configuration of
chapters of the book has learning objectives, structure and learning outcomes. A chapter on various
psychological assessment methods and tools have also been included.
The language used is simple and easy to understand by undergraduate students with every chapter
having a section on self-evaluation.
Overall, I congratulate Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi for writing this book and wish her every success for
this academic contribution. I am sure that the book would be useful not only for Nursing students, but
also to all disciplines of students who desire to have a comprehensive knowledge on Psychology.

S.P. Thyagarajan
Professor of Eminence and Dean (Research)
 Preface
“Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students” is a comprehensive book that is
designed for all student nurses who are taking up Diploma and Bachelor in nursing programs as well
as for the registered nurses who would like to enrich their practice as nurse practitioners. Psychology
as a subject must provide adequate insight for the aspiring nurses who will embark into the caring
profession which requires adjustment to the behaviour of the patients and those around them. Among
these concepts are the following: the psychology of nursing care and the psychological intervention
like the therapeutic smile, mental health, growth and development. The basic concepts of psychology
are also presented in this book, since it is very important as the author views it, that all nurses must
also know and understand the origin and the development of psychology as a science.
Psychology helps nurses to understand the patients and their diseases in a better way. As there is
close relationship between mind, body and spirit, most of the physical disorders are related to mind.
Hence, the treatment for only body may not help the patients. Patients differ in their personality,
motivation, intelligence, attitudes, aptitudes, learning, thinking, emotion, etc. Each of these processes
has its role in determining the disease condition of the patient. Knowledge of psychology helps nurses
to understand the role of these psychological processes in causing different diseases. Nurses can make
use of various methods, materials, tests, etc. explained in psychology to assess the patients. Accurate
assessment helps in ensuring appropriate treatment, nursing care and early cure. The frustrations,
conflicts, stress and emotions cause psychosomatic disorders. Such disorders need treatment for both
body and mind. Role of nurses in treatment of these patients is very important. Indian Nursing Council
(INC) has done a right job by including all the essential chapters in the syllabus for students of nursing.
Attempts have been made to give suitable explanation along with appropriate examples. Psychology is
such a vast subject that it is very difficult to include all the points in a book. Hence, the points
prescribed in syllabus are explained in a precise way, so as to enable the nurses of today to enrich their
knowledge and to meet the challenges they encounter in their profession.
Every effort has been made to contact holders of copyright to obtain permission to reproduce
copyright material. However, if any have inadvertently overlooked, the publishers, on information,
will be pleased to rectify the error at the first opportunity. Images for which such permission was
awaited at the time of publication will be replaced in subsequent editions if such permission is not
granted.
I take immense pleasure in thanking Mrs. Meryn Selvanayagam, M.A., [Link]., Lecturer,
Department of Allied Health Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research,
for her constant support on linguistic edition.
The author is particularly thankful to the Directors Sri Niraj Pandey and Sri K.N. Pandey, and
other staff of Himalaya Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. without whose efforts, this book would not have
come out in time and in such an elegant form.

Authors
 Syllabus
Learning Objectives
 To describe the history, scope and methods of psychology
 To explain the biology of Human behaviour and describe various cognitive process and their
applications
 To describe motivation, emotions, stress, attitudes and their influence on behaviour
 To explain the concepts of personality and its influence on behaviour
 To describe psychology of people during the life cycle
 To describe the characteristics of mentally healthy person
 To explain ego defence mechanisms
 To explain the psychological assessment and role of a nurse

Sr. No. Modules/Units

1. Introduction
 History and origin of science of Psychology
 Definitions and scope of Psychology
 Relevance to Nursing
 Methods of Psychology
2. Biology of Behaviour
 Body-mind relationship modulation process in health and illness
 Genetics and behaviour: Heredity and environment
 Brain and behaviour: Nervous System, Neurons and synapse
 Association Cortex, Right and Left Hemispheres
 Psychology of Sensations
 Muscular and glandular controls of behaviour
 Nature of behaviour of an organism/integrated responses
3. Cognitive Processes
 Attention: Types, determinants, duration and degree, alterations
 Perception: Meaning, principles, factors affecting, errors
 Learning: Nature, types, learner and learning factors influencing, laws and theories,
process, transfer, study habits
 Memory: Meaning, types, nature factors influencing, development theories, and method
of memorizing and forgetting
 Thinking: Types and levels, stages of development, relationship with language and
communication
 Intelligence: Meaning, classification, uses, theories
 Aptitude: Concept, types, individual differences and variability
 Psychometric assessments of cognitive processes
 Alternations in cognitive processes
 Applications
4. Motivation and Emotional Processes
 Motivation: Meaning, concepts, types, theories, motives and behaviour, conflicts and
frustration, conflict resolution
 Emotions and stress
 Emotions: Definition, components, changes in emotions, theories, emotional
adjustments, emotions in health and illness
 Stress: Stressors, cycle, effect, adaptation and coping
 Attitude: Meaning, nature, development, factors affecting
 Behaviour and attitudes
 Attitudinal change
 Psychometric assessments of emotions and attitudes
 Alterations in emotions
 Applications
5. Personality
 Definitions, topography, types, theories
 Psychometric assessments of personality
 Alterations in personality
 Applications
6. Developmental Psychology
 Psychology of people at different ages from infancy to old age
 Psychology of vulnerable individuals – challenged, women, sick, etc.
 Psychology of groups
7. Mental Hygiene and Mental Health
 Concepts of mental hygiene and mental health
 Characteristics of mentally healthy person
 Warning signs of poor mental health
 Promotive and preventive mental health strategies and services
 Ego defence mechanisms and implications
 Personal and social adjustments
 Guidance and counseling
 Role of nurse
8. Psychological Assessments
 Principles, types, development, characteristics, uses, interpretations and role of a nurse in
psychological assessment
 Contents
Sr. No. Name Page No.
Block I: Introduction
1. Introduction about Psychology 1 – 13
2. Scientific Methods of Psychology 14 – 24
3. Fields of Psychology 25 – 32

Block II: Biology of Behaviour

4. Biology of Behaviour 33 – 43
5. Heredity and Environment 44 – 49
6. Sensory Process 50 – 56

Block III: Cognitive Processes

7. Attention and Perception 57 – 66
8. Learning 67 – 77
9. Memory 78 – 91
10. Thinking 92 – 98
11. Intelligence 99 – 111

Block IV: Motivation and Emotional Processes

12. Motivation 112 – 122
13. Emotions and Stress 123 – 133
14. Attitude 134 – 138
Block V: Personality
15. Personality 139 – 153

Block VI: Developmental Psychology

16. Growth and Development 154 – 163
17. Psychology of Groups 164 – 170

Block VII: Mental Hygiene and Mental Health

18. Mental Hygiene, Mental Health and Mental Illness 171 – 178
19. Counselling and Techniques 179 – 185

Block VIII: Psychological Assessments

20. Psychological Assessment 186 – 191
 Block I: Introduction
Chapter

Introduction about
1 Psychology

Learning Outcomes:
After completion of this unit students will be able to
 Understand the basic concepts of psychology
 Know the history and scope of psychology
 Identify the aim of psychology
 Describe the early and modern schools of psychology

Structure:
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Definitions
1.1.2 Aims of Psychology
1.2 History and origin of the science of psychology
1.2.1 History
1.2.2 Women in Psychology
1.3 Early Schools
1.3.1 Structuralism
1.3.2 Functionalism
1.4 Modern Schools of Psychology
1.4.1 Gestalt Psychology
1.4.2 Psychoanalysis
1.4.3 Behaviourism
1.4.4 Humanistic Psychology
 Recap
 Evaluate
 Key Terms
2 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Psychologists study human and animal behaviour that, ranges across lower biological levels to
higher social and cultural levels. The same behaviours can be studied and explained within psychology
at different levels of explanation. The word psychology is derived from two greek words, psycho and
logos. ‘Psyche’ means ‘soul’ and Logy means ‘the study of’.
Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s. The first The Scientific Study of
psychologists were philosophers, but the field became more objective Behaviour and Mental
Processes.
as more sophisticated scientific approaches were developed and
adopted. Some of the most important historical schools of psychology
include structuralism, functionalism, behaviourism, humanistic and psychodynamic psychology.
Cognitive psychology, Evolutionary psychology, Neuro psychology, Forensic psychology and social-
cultural psychology are some of the important contemporary approaches.

1.1.1 Definitions
Psychology is the Science of Mental Life, both of its phenomena and their conditions. The
phenomena are such things as we call feelings, desires, cognitions, reasoning, decisions, and the like.
(William James, 1890)
Psychology is defined as the ‘Scientific study of the behaviour of living creatures in their
contact with the outer world”.(Kurt Koffka, 1925).
Clifford T Morgan says, psychology is the science of human and animal behaviour and it
includes the application of this science to solve a problem of human behaviour.
Presently psychology is defined as the “Scientific study of behaviour (human beings and lower
animals) and mental processes”. It can be seen that the variables in psychology are scientific
procedures behavior, and mental processes. Scientific procedures include systematic observation and
experimentation to gather data, behaviour focuses on the factual information and mental process
indicates to any form of thought processing which takes place in the organism from birth till the death
of the individual.

1.1.2 Aims of Psychology

The prime aim of psychology is to describe, explain, predict and control behaviour and mental
processes. To describe we mean to find out how and why the behaviour, exploring the various causes
for the particular behaviour. To explain means, we need to understand, gather the information and gain
better perspective of the behaviour through the observation, interview, case study and survey. We
conduct experiments to ensure that the behaviour is not an anomaly. For instance, why a student is not
successful in passing the examinations could be understood by exploring the various causes like poor
study habits, lack of concentration, poor memory, uninterested in the subject, lack of motivation, or
due to personal or other family problems, and by describing as well as explaining such behaviours. To
predict means, to foretell or to tell in advance at least to some extent the occurrence of such
behaviours. For example, poor study habits may lead to failure in the examinations. To control refers
Introduction about Psychology 3

to minimise or stop the occurrence of particular behaviour by using various psychological techniques
or treatment. Psychology further aims at solving ‘real-life’ problems. The various activities like:
Psycho-therapist talking to a worried client, the Educational Psychologist advising a school board on a
new curriculum, the Clinical Psychologist supervising group therapy in a mental hospital and the
Industrial psychologist trying to lessen tensions between management and workers in a large industry,
all aim at minimising the intensity of real life problems.

1.2 HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY

1.2.1 History

Sl. No. Year Psychologists Contribution

1 428-347BC Plato Brain is the mechanism of mental processes.
2 384-322 BC Aristotle Heart is the mechanism of mental processes.
3 1596-1650 Rene Descartes Passions of the Soul
4 1632-1704 John Locke Philosophy of mind
5 1774 AD Franz Mesmer Concept of hypnosis
6 1801-1887 Gustav Fechner, Ernst Heinrich ‘Just Noticeable Difference,’ known as
Weber’s Law.
7 1809-1882 Charles Darwin Survival of the fittest.
8 1848 Phineas Gage Area of the brain plays a role in personality.
9 1861 Paul Broca Left frontal lobe that plays a key role in
language development
10 1869 Sir Francis Galton Intellectual abilities are biological in nature
11 1874 Carl Wernicke Frontal lobe, the ability to understand or
produce language
12 1878 G. Stanley Hall American Psychological Association.
13 1879 Wilhelm Wundt First formal laboratory of Psychology at the
University of Leipzig
14 1885 Herman Ebbinghaus Nonsense syllable as a means to study memory
processes
15 1886 Sigmund Freud The beginning of personality theory
16 1890 James Cattell “Mental Tests”
17 1890 Sir Francis Galton the correlation to better understand the
interrelationships
18 1890 William James Principles of Psychology
19 1895 Alfred Binet First laboratory of psychodiagnosis
20 1896 John Dewey Functionalism
4 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

21 1898 Edward Thorndike Law of Effect

22 1906 Ivan Pavlov Classical Conditioning
23 1911 Alfred Adler Accusing Freud of overemphasising sexuality
24 1911 Edward Thorndike Operant Conditioning
25 1912 Max Wertheimer Gestalt Psychology.
26 1913 John E. Watson Behavioural Psychology
27 1913 Carl G. Jung Analytical Psychology.
28 1917 Robert Yerkes Army Alpha and Beta Tests
29 1932 Jean Piaget Cognitive development
30 1932 Walter B. Cannon Fight or flight phenomenon
31 1935 Henry Murray Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
32 1936 Egas Moniz Frontal lobotomies
33 1942 Carl Rogers Counselling and Psychotherapy’
34 1950 Erik Erikson Childhood and Society
35 1953 B.F. Skinner Behavioural therapy
36 1954 Abraham Maslow Humanistic Psychology
37 1961 Carl Rogers ‘On Becoming a Person,
38 1963 Alfred Bandura Observational Learning
39 1963 Lawrence Kolberg Morality development
40 20th and Linda Bartoshuk, Daniel, An important contribution in neuroscience, an
21st century Kahneman, Elizabeth, Loftus, understanding of how people develop and are
George Miller influenced by social norms.

Physiology Philosophy

Psychology

Fig. 1.1: Roots of Psychology

Introduction about Psychology 5

Psychology as a science branched out from philosophy. During the mid-1800s, physiologists
developed scientific explanations for sensations and showed how scientific methods could be applied
to understand the human behaviour and mental processes.
Psychology as a self-conscious field of experimental study began in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt
established the first psychological laboratory at Leipzig. Wundt began the field known as structuralism,
a school of psychology whose goal was to identify the basic elements or structures of psychological
experience. Edward B. Titchener who was his student, developed his own approach to study
psychology called structuralism, which emphasised the study of basic structures of consciousness and
believed that all human mental experience could be understood as a combination of simple elements or
events. He used introspection, to study an individual’s response to basic sensations and perceptions.
Towards the end of the 19th century, William James stressed the purpose and functions of
behaviour and mental experiences such as direct observation and emphasised individual differences.
Functionalism had an impact on education and applied psychology.
James Mckeen Cattell adapted Francis Galton’s anthropometric methods to generate the first
programme of mental testing in the 1890s. The development of scientific thinking in psychology
gained momentum with the German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus, who was a pioneer in the
experimental study of memory and forgetting. Ivan Pavlov discovered the learning principle of
classical conditioning, while he was experimenting with his dog.
In the beginning of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud challenged both the structuralists and the
functionalists with his new school of thought called psychoanalysis. The importance of the
unconscious impulses contributed to the development of an adult. Psychology is an approach to
understanding of human behaviour that focuses on the role of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and
memories. He emphasised the study on personality and behaviour of an individual. His analyses
evidenced that human behaviour was either motivated or triggered by unconscious conflicts of the
mind that were sexual or aggressive by nature. According to Freud, early childhood experience and
unconscious impulses contributed to the development of adult personality and his view had an
enormous impact and influenced not only the field of mental health, but also art and literature.
Behaviourism is based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind, and
therefore, the psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behaviour itself. It challenged
the concept of the unconscious behaviour emphasised on the observable behaviour. American
Psychologist John B. Watson (1878–1958) was influenced largely by the work of the Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov (classical conditioning) (1849–1936). B.F. Skinner developed operant
conditioning approach further by showing how reinforcement and punishment influenced behaviour.
In the 1950s, yet another school of thought called the
humanistic school, emerged, which emphasised the Knowing the basic outlines
of the history of the field will
individual’s unique potential for psychological growth; the
help you understand how
humanistic viewpoint talks about self-determination, free will,
today a major perspective
self- actualisation and choice as being important aspects of
has evolved/evolves.
human behaviour. Carls Rogers who developed client centred
therapy and Abraham Maslow, who explained the concept of need hierarchy, were the founders of
these schools. Humanistic perspective is a perspective in modern psychology which suggests the
presence of free will in human being and is not simply under the control of various internal and
external factors.
6 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

1.2.2 Women in Psychology

The contributions of many female thinkers – retain but for on psychology have long been ignored,
but for the works of eminent women such as Margret Floy, Washburn, Karen Horney, Mary
Ainsworth, Leta Hollingworth (1886-1939) and Christine Ladd-Franklin. Mary Ainsworth the
developmental psychologist is best-known for her strange situation assessment of early childhood
attachment. Sandra Bem is a contemporary psychologist known for her gender schema theory. She
developed the Bem Sex Role inventory, which measures how well people fit into traditional gender
roles and characterises personality as masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated.
Karen Horney, a prominent psychoanalyst is known for her important contributions to
psychology through her work with neurosis, feminine psychology, and self-psychology. Marry
Calkins studied on memory in the early part of twentieth century.
Melanie Klein was an Austrian psychoanalyst best known for creating the therapeutic technique
known as play therapy. She was one of the first people to use traditional psychoanalysis with children
and the therapeutic techniques she used continue to have an important influence on contemporary
child psychology. Anna Freud the daughter of Sigmund Freud has also made notable contributions to
the treatment of abnormal behaviour.

1.3 EARLY SCHOOLS

1.3.1 Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Wundt considered to be the founder of Experimental
Psychology., developed the first widely accepted school of All human mental experience
thought, structuralism, which focused on the inner can be understood as a
workings of consciousness. In 1879, he opened the first combination of simple elements.
These elements are arrived at by
psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in
the method of introspection, as
Germany. Structuralism was later expanded by Titchener the sole procedure for
(1867-1927) Structuralism is an early school of thought understanding mental elements.
emphasised that emphasised that all human mental
experience can be understood as a combination of simple elements or events that can be analysed
through introspection. Structuralism in brief refers to the images, sensation and feelings which
contribute to form experience. It otherwise, deals with the structure of the mind or mental structure.
Structuralism developed and used the technique called introspection. Introspection refers to self-
analysis or self-examination or looking within oneself. The reports of the subjects allow the
Psychologists to create interest on the structure that is worked upon. Presently, this school has more
historical importance.
Introduction about Psychology 7

Focused on the purpose of

consciousness and behaviour.
Functionalism investigated
adaptations or adjustment.

Structuralism attempted to study the conscious experience, the objective features such as sight or
taste and subjective feelings such as responses, will and mental images. Structuralists believed that the
mind functioned by creatively continuing elements of experience.

1.3.2 Functionalism
Functionalists such as William James (1842 - 1910), James Angell (1869 - 1949) Harvey Carr
(1873 - 1954), at the University of Chicago proposed that psychology is the study of how a mental
process operates. In brief, these early psychologists studied the ‘how of’ using the functions and
behaviour. Functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and behaviour. Functionalism
investigated adaptations or adjustment.

1.4 MODERN SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY

1.4.1 Gestalt Psychology

This School of Gestalt psychology was founded in
Germany about 1912 by Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) and The organisation of the
his colleagues: Kurt Koffka (1886-1941) and Wolfgang relationships of elements
Kohler (1887-1967). The German word Gestalt means determines the mental experience
“form” or “configuration,” and the Gestalt psychologists
a person has. Mental experience
depends on the patterning and
maintained that the mind should be thought of as resulting
organisation of elements.
from the whole patterns of sensory activity and the
relationships and organisations within this pattern. When
8 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

you look at the dots in the figure given below, your mental experience is not the just of the dots, or
elements but of a circle and a square. It is the organisation of the dots and their relationships that give
an idea that you perceived. Gestalt psychologists stated that mental experiences depend on the
patterning and organisation of elements. In other words, according to the Gestalt psychologists, the
organisation of the relationships of elements determines the mental experience a person has. Your
mental experience is not just of the dots, or elements, but of a circle and a square sitting on a line.
Gestalt psychologists believe that the mental experience depends on the patterning and organisation of
elements and the mind is best understood in terms of the ways the elements are organised. Gestalt
psychologists stated that experiences cannot be broken down to separate elements. Gestalt
psychologists laid their basis on perception, and believed that perception is a copy of objects or a
“mental image” of what has been perceived and thinking is a mechanical combination of those images.

Circle Square

Fig. 1.2: Perception of Patterns

1.4.2 Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis was founded in Vienna, Austria, by the Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1938).
In the course of his practice with neurotic patients, Freud developed a theory of behaviour and mind
which said that much of what we do and think results from urges, or drives, which seek expression in
behaviour and thought. A crucial point about these urges and drives, according to psychoanalytic
theory, is that they are hidden from the awareness of the individual; they are, in other words,
unconscious. It is the expression of the unconscious drives which shows up in behaviour and thought.
The term unconscious motivation thus describes the key idea of psychoanalysis. Freud elaborated on
this basic theme of unconscious motivation, a system of psychotherapy.

Psychoanalysis is a theory of
personality and a form of therapy
developed by Freud, which
emphasises unconscious
motivations and conflict.

The socially forbidden,

personally unacceptable and
painful desires, impulses, urges
and wishes of the individual are
being pushed away into the
depths of the unconscious.
Introduction about Psychology 9

The psychoanalytic conception of human behaviour was developed by Sigmund Freud.

Psychoanalytic ideas have had a profound influence on psychological thinking. The basic assumption
of Freud’s theory is that much of our behaviour stems from processes that are unconscious. By
unconscious processes Freud meant thoughts, fears, and wishes a person is unaware of, but which still
influence behaviour. He believed that many of the impulses that are forbidden or punished by parents
and society during childhood are derived from innate instincts. According to Freud, unconscious
impulses find expression in dreams slips of speech, mannerisms, and symptoms of neurotic illness, as
well as through such socially approved behaviour as artistic, literary, or scientific activity. The socially
forbidden, personally unacceptable and painful desires, impulses, urges and wishes of the individual
are being pushed away into the depths of the unconscious portions of the mind from the conscious
layers. This process is called “repression”. According to psychoanalysis, the nature of the unconscious
material may be made conscious and that helps to remember the accompanying affective components
of the original experiences, which would help the individual to recover, this is called by Freud the
method of “Free Association” and “Dream Interpretation”. The structure of mind deals with Id – the
basic principles, the Ego – the reality principle, and the Superego or the conscious. Freud also evolved
a theory of personality development running through certain stages of development which is known as
theory of psycho-sexual development, dealing with the oral, anal, phallic, latency and the genital stage.
Freud’s views have an enormous impact not only on the field of mental health but also on art and
literature.

1.4.3 Behaviourism
This school of psychology originated with the American Psychologist John B. Watson (1878 -
1958), at Johns Hopkins University. Watson rejected mind as the subject of psychology and insisted
that psychology be restricted to the study of behaviour – the observable (or potentially observable)
activities of people and animals. Only the observable responses made by the subject were relevant.
Behaviourism studies the observable behaviour and relationship between stimuli and responses. With
the behavioural approach, a psychologist studies individuals by looking at their behaviour rather than
at their internal workings. The view that behaviour should be the sole subject matter of psychology
was first advanced by John B. Watson in the early 1900s. According to Watson, “if psychology were
to be a science, its data must be observable and measurable.
10 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

According to behaviourist’s view, psychology should focus solely on observable, overt activities
that can be measured in a scientific manner. For example, consider the question of what motivates people
to work hard and spend efforts on their jobs. We cannot observe such work-motivation directly; it is an
internal state that we assume, exists inside people and affects their overt behaviour. For example, – how
long and hard they work at a given task – we can observe both the conditions. We believe that many
influence motivation, such as the extent to which good performance is rewarded, and changes in overt
behaviour that appear to be linked with motivation, such as actual output, number of errors and so on in
the industrial or organisational set up. Since modern psychology, still focuses a great deal of attention on
overt behaviour, this (motivation) remains an important perspective within the field.

Pavlov’s classical conditioning was based on the behaviouristic model. Watson pointed out to the
laboratory experiments conducted by Ivan Pavlov in Russia as a model. Pavlov found that, dogs learnt
to salivate when a bell is rung, if ringing the bells has been repeatedly associated with feeding. Pavlov
explained the salivation in terms of the laboratory conditions, or conditioning. Salivation is an event
that could be measured by the laboratory instruments.
Stimulus-Response Psychology is influential particularly because of the work of Harvard
psychologist B.F. Skinner. Stimulus-Response Psychology (or S-R Psychology for short) studies the
stimuli that elicit behavioural responses, the rewards and punishments that maintain these responses
and the modifications in behaviour obtained by changing the patterns of rewards and punishments. A
theory of learning can be developed by observing how learning can be done with the fewest of errors.
Skinner introduced the concept of reinforcement to behaviourism.
Introduction about Psychology 11

Behaviourism is based on the learning model like observation, conditioning and modelling. The
methods include all Behaviour Modification Techniques like Assertive Training, Role Modelling,
Systematic Desensitization, Aversion Therapy etc. criticisms on Behaviourism are based on the facts that
all responses are not observable and that it missed the richness of human nature, of thoughts and feelings.

1.4.4 Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic or Phenomenological Approach: The humanistic approach of American
psychologists such as Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987), Rollo May (born 1909) and Abraham Maslow (1916
- 1972) posits that we are basically free to determine our own behaviour. Humanists, opine that
freedom is a source of both pride and great responsibility. When personality development focuses
upon the development of self, it is called humanism. It is concerned with the individual’s own
perception and interpretation of events on the individual’s phenomenology. Two people might behave
quite differently in response to the same situation; only by asking how each interprets to the situation,
can we fully understand their behaviour.
Humanistic psychology assumes the existence of the self and emphasises the importance of
consciousness and self-awareness.
Some phenomenological theories are also called humanistic, because they emphasise those
qualities that distinguish people from animals-primarily their free will and their drive toward self-
actualisation. According to humanistic theories, an individual’s main motivational force is the
tendency toward growth and self-actualisation. Achievement is acquired as a basic need to develop our
potential to the fullest, to progress beyond where we
Humanistic Perspective is a
are now. Although we may be blocked by all kinds of
perspective in modern psychology
environmental and cultural obstacles, our natural
suggesting that human beings have
tendency is toward self-actualisation of our potential. free will and are not simply under the
With its emphasis on developing one’s potential, control of various internal and
humanistic psychology has been closely associated external factors, portions of the mind
with encounter groups and various types of from the conscious layers.
“consciousness-expanding” and mystical experiences.
It is more aligned with literature and humanities than with science. In fact some humanists would even
reject scientific psychology claiming that its method can contribute nothing worthwhile to an
understanding of human nature.
Humanists such as Carl Rogers (1985) and other psychologists admit that their observation method
have been less than scientific, vague and difficult to test due to their subjectivity but argue that subjective
experience remains vital to the understanding of human nature.

Comparison of Schools of Psychology

Behaviouristic Perspective: Only concepts that can be related to observable aspects of
behaviour are useful from the point of view of a science-oriented psychology.
Psychoanalytic perspective: According to the psychodynamic perspective, behaviour stems from
continuous, and largely unconscious, struggles among hidden forces deep within our personalities.
12 Basic Principles of Psychology for Nursing Students

Humanistic perspective: Psychologists who adhere to the humanistic perspective emphasise the
importance of tendencies toward personal growth-tendencies in each of us to try to become the best
person we can be. Only when external obstacles interfere, the growth process is interrupted; in such
cases, humanistic psychologists contend, we may experience various psychological disorders
stemming from disruption of our normal growth. Humanistic Perspective is a perspective in modern
psychology suggesting that human beings have free will and are not simply under the control of
various internal and external factors.

RECAP
Behavioural Focuses on overt, observable behaviour. Concepts are viewed as useful
only if they can be related to overt behaviour.
Gestalt Emphasises the tendency to organise perception into whole and to
integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns.
Psychodynamic Emphasises the role of internal forces and conflicts in behaviour. It views
many actions, and many forms of psychological disorders, as stemming
from unconscious impulses or forces.
Humanistic Emphasises the importance of tendencies toward personal growth and
assumes that individuals have free will with respect to their own behaviour.

EVALUATE
1. Psychology is defined as the
(a) study of mankind
(b) scientific study of mind and matter
(c) scientific study of behaviour and mental process
(d) study of consciousness
2. Psychology is a science because
(a) it branched out from philosophy
(b) it employs scientific methods to study behaviour
(c) it uses testing methods
(d) it gathers data about behaviour.
3. The goal of psychology is to
(a) describe, understand and analyse
(b) describe, predict and control behaviour
(c) describe, manipulate and control
(d) describe, compare and analyse behaviour
Introduction about Psychology 13

4. Founder of experimental psychology

(a) Wilhelm Wundt
(b) Herbert
(c) William James
(d) None of these
5. Father of psychology
(a) Wilhelm Wundt
(b) Sigmund Freud
(c) Watson
(d) William James

Answers
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (b) 4. (a) 5. (a)

KEY TERMS
 Psychology (p. 2)  Aim (p. 2)
 History (p. 3)  Sigmund Freud (p. 8)
 Anna Freud (p. 6)  Watson (p. 9)
 Max Werthimer (p. 7)  Ivan Pavlov (p. 10)
 Maslow (p. 11)  B.F. Skinner (p. 10)

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