Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. It uses various methods including introspection, observation, experimentation, surveys, interviews, clinical studies, and case studies. Some key branches are clinical, developmental, social, and cognitive psychology. Psychology provides frameworks and theories and also applies principles in areas like education, health, and industry. It aims to understand individuals and their behaviors in different environments and contexts.

1. DEFINITION
SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY
METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
PRESENTED BY:
VIVEKANANDA D S
B.SC(N), M.S(C&P)

2. DEFINITIONS-
Psychology derived from two Greek words
Psyche-spirit or soul, mind
Logos-study
Psychology is the scientific study of the activities of the
individual in relation to his environment.-Woodworth &
Marquis.
Psychology is the science of behaviour.-J.B.Watson.

3. • Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and
behavior. It is study of mind and how it works. - oxford
dictionary.
• Psychology is the science of human and animal behavior
which includes the application of this science to solve human
behavior. - W.Hamilton
• Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its
functions, especially those affecting behavior in given context.

4. SCOPE OF PSYCHOLOGY-
It is broad and diverse field and divided into two broad categories-
1. Pure psychology: provide framework and theory: basic concepts of
psychology. Formulation of psychological principles and theories.
2. Applied psychology: pure psychology is used in practical form.
Application of principles, rules and techniques of psychology is done.

5. Branches of pure psychology -
• General psychology
• Abnormal psychology
• Physiological/ biological psychology. Eg; MRI, CT Scan, EEG.
• Social psychology: scientific methods used to study social influences, social interactions.
• Experimental psychology
• Child, Adolescent, Adult psychology
• Para Psychology. Eg; telepathy, re-birth
• Developmental psychology: growth and lifespan.
• Animal psychology
• Cognitive psychology: thought process and cognition.
• Geo-psychology: effect of change in environment.

6. Branches of applied psychology
• Clinical psychology: assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder.
• Industrial psychology
• Crime Psychology
• Educational psychology
• Military psychology
• Legal psychology- ex; criminals,clients,witness's behaviour
• Political psychology
• Health psychology
• Sports psychology
• Aerospace psychology
• Organizational psychology

7. WHY PSYCHOLOGY IS SCIENCE?
Like sciences,
• It has an organized and systematic body of knowledge, facts,
principles and theories.
• It believes in the cause & effect relationship.
• It emphasizes the search for truth.
• Like other sciences it has pure and applied aspects.

8. RELEVANCE OF PSYCHOLOGY TO NURSING
Help to
• Understanding self
• Understanding patient
• Understanding patient relatives/well wishers
• Get adjusted to professional environment
• Provide needed advice, guidance and support to the patient
• Carry out proper psychometric assessment

9. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1.INTROSPECTION METHOD
It is the oldest method of all, Introspection means to see with in oneself or self
observation. To understand one’s own mental health and the state of mind.
Introspection composed of two words-
Intro means within/inward
Spection means looking

10. Merits of Introspection method-
• Its simple and readily available method- no extra expenditure
& no equipment's required.
• It provides an adequate knowledge of the inner/covert
experiences.

11. Demerits of Introspection method-
• This method is subjective in nature and result cannot be
verified.
• It cannot be repeated.
• This method cannot be used on children's, insane persons and
animal.

12. 2.OBSERVATION METHOD
Direct observation of overt behavior.
• Formal observation-Eg-Schools formal inspection
• Informal/Natural observation
• Participant observation
• Non-participant observation

13. Merits
• Its accurate & subjective bias eliminated.
• Information obtained related to current happenings.
• Either past behavior or future intentions do not complicate it.
• Does not require active participation of the subject.

14. Demerits
• Scarcity of trained observers.
• Expensive (time, money).
• Complete dependence on the observer data.
• Non-repeatability.
• Difficult to establish relationship.
• Difficult to record observed data accurately.

15. 3.EXPERIMENTAL METHOD
• Objective observation are made under controlled conditions to
study the behavior of individuals.
A-Control group
B-Experimental group

16. Merits
• It is accurate and precise.
Demerits
• Demands artificial situation.
• All types of behavior cannot be experimented.
• It is costly and time consuming.

17. 4.SURVEY METHOD
Questionnaire method- systematically planned questions.
• Mail survey
• Group administered survey
• Door to door survey- Home/workplace
Interview method- Personal, Group, Electronic/telephonic

18. Merits-
• Can be applied to large populations.
• Can be cover many topics.
• Convenient data gathering.
Demerits-
• Not ideal for controversial issues.
• Relatives superficial.

19. 5.INTERVIEW METHOD
Types-
• Personal interview
• Group interview
• Telephone/Electronic interview
Formats-
• Structured/Standardized interview- pre-planned questions
• Unstructured/Non-standardized interview

20. Merits of the Interview method are-
• High participation of the subject or respondent.
• The subject answers the questions in a free manner.
• This method is very flexible as it becomes possible for the
interviewer to reframe, repeat and rephrase the questions as
suitable for the subject.
• It provides a face-to-face contact with each other.

21. • The subject’s emotions can be studied well. It is often observed that
during an interview, the subject may become emotional and get
excited, and may express freely his fears, anxieties, and complexes.
• The data collected through the interview method is reliable. The
interviewer analyses and crosschecks the information provided, to
find out whether the data is correct or not.
• The interview method can be applied on all types of people-literate or
illiterate children and adults and at times also on mentally unhealthy
persons.(Illiterate as well as children provide proper in-depth
information as compared to other methods like observation,
questionnaire method etc.)

22. Demerits of the Interview Methods are -
• It is a costly method.
• The interview is often held in artificial situation.
• It requires well-trained interviewer.
• It suffers from the subjective bias of the interviewer.
• The subject may tend to be bored during the process and then
the data obtained will not be valid.

23. 6.CLINICAL
This method is primarily used to collect detailed information on the behavior problems of maladjusted
and deviant cases. The main objective of this method is to study individual case or cases of group to
detect and diagnose their specific problems and to suggest therapeutic measures to rehabilitate them in
their environment.
It involves the following steps;
1. Interview
2. Information gathering
3. A hypothesis formulate
4. Diagnosis
5. Plan treatment programme

24. 7.CASE STUDY METHOD
It is the in-depth analysis of a person, group, or phenomenon.
A variety of techniques are employed including personal
interviews, psychometric tests, direct observation, and archival
records.
Case studies are most often used in psychology in clinical
research to describe the rare events and conditions of the
subject.

25. case study is specially used in education psychology. It deals
with the following problems;
-Emotional problems - Daydreaming
-Social problems - Establish rapport
-Poor academic performance
- Empathetic understanding
-Treatment