The document provides an overview of the field of psychology. It discusses that psychology evolved from philosophy and biology and seeks to understand human thought, action, and feelings. It outlines several major schools of thought in psychology's history that aimed to explain human behavior, such as structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanism. Additionally, it states that modern psychology uses scientific methods like hypotheses testing to study both academic and applied areas, including areas like mental health treatment, performance enhancement, and ergonomics.

2. INTRODUCTION
The word psychology is derived from the Greek
word psyche, meaning 'soul' or 'mind.' Psychology is both
an applied and academic field that studies the human
mind and behaviour. Research in psychology seeks to
understand and explain how we think, act and feel.
Psychology evolved out of both philosophy and biology.
Discussions of these two subjects date as far back as the
early Greek thinkers including Aristotle and Socrates.
Applications for psychology include mental health
treatment, performance enhancement, self-help,
ergonomics and many other areas affecting health and
daily life..

3. SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
Throughout psychology's history, a number of
different schools of thought have thought have
formed to explain human thought and behaviours.
The following are some of the major schools of
thought in psychology.
 Structuralism
 Functionalism
 Psychoanalysis
 Behaviourism
 Humanism
 Cognitivism

4. PSYCHOLOGY IN TODAYS WORLD
 Today, psychologists prefer to use more objective scientific methods
to understand, explain and predict human behaviour.
 Psychological studies are highly structured, beginning with a
hypothesis that is then empirically tested.
 Two major areas of focus are academic psychology and applied
psychology. .

5.  Academic psychology focuses on the study of different sub-topics
within psychology including personality, social behaviour and
human development. These psychologists conduct basic
research that seeks to expand our theoretical knowledge, while
other researchers conduct applied research that seeks to solve
everyday problems.
 Applied psychology focuses on the use of different psychological
principles to solve real world problems. Examples of applied
areas of psychology include forensic psychology, ergonomics
and industrial-organizational psychology. Many other
psychologists work as therapists, helping people overcome
mental, behavioural and emotional disorders

6. BEHAVIOURALISM
 Is the study of observable and quantifiable aspects of
behavior and excludes subjective phenomena, such as
ideas or motives.
 Science of behavior and not of consciousness.
 Behavior is both conditioned and determined by its own
outcomes or consequences (rewards and punishments);
 denies
 Only the observable and measurable aspects of a
behavior are worth investigating;

7. THEORY’S USEFULNESS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF 21ST CENTURY SKILLS
 This theory is useful for implementing a system of
meritocracy whereby people are awarded by their
achievements and results.
 In an attempt to develop more advanced skills in the 21st
century, people could get encouraged by these external
motivations.

8. HUMANISM
 This school of Psychology studies a whole person, and the
uniqueness of each individual.
 It looks at human behavior not only through the eyes of the
observer, but through the eyes of the person doing the
behaving.
 Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual's
behavior is connected to their inner feelings and self
concept.

9. PSYCHOANALYSIS
 Psychoanalysis this theory undergoes the study of how
the mind works and a treatment.
 It believes in the primacy of the unconscious fantasy that
people could be cured by making conscious
their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining
“insight”.
 The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed
emotions and experiences, i.e. make the unconscious
conscious.
 Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and
anxiety disorders.

10. STRUCTURALISM
 Study of conscious experience
 Centers on sensation
 Held the elementary mental states such as
sensations, images, and feelings

11. COGNITIVISM
 Cognitivism is a theory which attempts to answer how and
why people learn by attributing the process to cognitive
activity.
 concerned with the mental processes involved in
acquiring and using knowledge; artificial intelligence.

12. THEORY’S USEFULNESS TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF
PROBLEMS
 This theory is very useful in problems that require thinking
out of the box and challenging the uncertainty.
 It is particularly useful in applications for solving questions
that do not have direct answers. One example is to create a
visual design to convey a certain message.
 this theory is one of the most useful for the development of
21st century skills.
 In order to keep up with the world that is progressing so
rapidly, one has to be creative and come up with more than
one solution to a certain problem.

13. FUNCTIONALISM
 Refers to a general psychological philosophy that
considers mental life and behavior in terms of active
adaptation to the person's environment.
 Focused on the operations or functions of conscious
activity (e.g. thinking, learning)

14. TABULA-RASA/BLANK-SLATE THEORY
 This tabula-rasa/blank-slate theory is responsible for most
serious mistakes in social theories and public policies of the last
century in fields like education, discrimination, gender relations.
It also is related to rejection of inheritance based evolutionary
theory. All this is very central to Human-Stupidity: how can a
ridiculously false theory dogmatically dominate science and
public policy for decades.
 One simple example of always repeated conventional wisdom:
 "Children that are beaten by violent parents become violent
adults".
 There usually is no test for the alternative hypothesis that this
has nothing to do with genetics, but that these children could
have genetically inherited violent traits from their parents.

15. PROBLEMS OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY