PSİKOLOJİ

Psychology is a discipline which studies both human and animal behavior.

Describing refers to identifying how behaviour occurs. Explaining refers to uncovering the causes of behaviour. Predicting refers to foreseeing the behaviour in different conditions. Controlling refers to changing the behaviour by changing its causes. Improving refers to using psychological explanations to promote humans’ wellbeing.

Psychology separated from philosophy and became a discipline on its own right in the late nineteenth century. It has come to be accepted as an independent discipline with the foundation of its own laboratory and development of its own methodology.

Philosophy

Study of nature of existence, reality, knowledge, language, morality

Sociology

Study of human social relationships, structures, institutions, politics

Anthropology

Study of humans’ culture and physical body in the past and present

Biology

Study of nature of living organisms and life

Physiology

Study of physical and chemical processes in living organism

Medicine

Study of diagnosing and treating the diseases and maintaining the health

Computer Science

Study of computers systems, designs, computations, data processing

Materialism is a philosophical approach, which rejected the idea of mind and body as separate entities. According to materialism, the mind is not something spiritual or nonphysical. The mind is just a part of the body. That is, the roots of the mind can be found in the body.

Beginning of modern psychology dates back to the late nineteenth century, when Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) founded first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany

Since the beginning of psychology, there have been different approaches to the study of human behavior. These approaches provided a variety of viewpoints for psychology to understand complicated human behavior better. Although some of these approaches (structuralism and functionalism) are not valid today, each made valuable contribution to the development of psychology as an independent discipline.

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), saw both humans and animals as empty organisms behaving like machines. He introduced instrumental (operant) learning and the concepts of reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement refers to the conditions where the behavior occurs again because the obtained stimulus is positive (e.g., good treatment). Punishment refers to the conditions where the behavior is not likely to occur again because the obtained stimulus is negative (e.g., bad treatment).

Gestalt psychology suggests that psychology should consider the whole in order to understand its parts because the whole of anything is greater than its parts.

Neuropsychology studies human behavior in the context of the brain and nervous system. It aims to understand the relationship between functions of the brain and nervous system and behavior. Neuropsychology attempts to explain how and why the brain and nervous system function in relation with our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings.

Researchers in psychology need to come with a theoretical question that has not already been answered. A theoretical question in a scientific study needs to be in the form of hypothesis, which expresses the prediction derived from the theory. Therefore, the answer is C since it gives us the incorrect information about research in psychology.

The human behavior has always drawn the interest of scholars from other disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, anthropology, biology, physiology, medicine, and computer science. However, geography is not one of the disciplines interested in human behavior. Therefore, the answer is B.

Among the options, it is clear that Anthropology is study of humans’ culture and physical body in the past and present. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

Materialism rejects the idea of mind and body as separate entities. In this approach, the mind is not something spiritual or nonphysical. The mind is just a part of the body. That is, the roots of the mind can be found in the body. Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Structuralism and its method introspection are not valid today. In addition, functionalism is also not valid today but its follower, behaviorism is still a crucial approach in psychology. The correct answer is E.

Sigmund Freud founded the approach of psychoanalysis and proposed a free-association technique, which aims to make people with psychological problems aware of their anxious childhood experiences. The correct answer is B.

B. F. Skinner saw both humans and animals as empty organisms behaving like machines. He introduced instrumental (operant) learning and the concepts of reinforcement and punishment. The correct answer is C.

Humanistic perspective focused on the concepts such as free will, creativity, personal choice, responsibility, personality growth, selfworth, and self-actualization. It argued that humans are good in nature and have a potential or natural drive for positive development and change. The correct answer is A.

Developmental psychology studies human behavior in the context of aging. It aims to understand how human behavior changes with aging across life. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

Neuropsychology studies human behavior in the context of the brain and nervous system and it attempts to explain how and why the brain and nervous system function in relation with our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Therefore, the correct answer is D.