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psychologists study behaviour as an Many students go on to earn a B.Sc. or M.Sc. association between stimulus (S) and response degree in universities. In fact, two of the most (R). Both stimulus and response can be sought after emerging disciplines which internal or external. continuously borrow from psychology are Neuroscience and Computer Science. Some of Psychology as a Discipline us would be aware of the fast developing brain imaging techniques like fMRI, EEG, etc. which As we have discussed above, psychology makeitpossibletostudybrainprocessesinreal studies behaviour, experience and mental processes. It seeks to understand and explain time, i.e. when they are actually taking place. how the mind works and how different mental Similarly, in IT areas, both human-computer processes result in different behaviours. When interaction and artificial intelligence cannot possiblygrowwithoutpsychologicalknowledge we observe others as lay or common persons, in cognitive processes. Thus, psychology as a our own points of view or our ways of understanding the world influence our discipline today has two parallel streams. One interpretations of their behaviours and whichmakesuseofthemethodinphysicaland experiences. Psychologists try to minimise biological sciences and the other which makes use of the method of social and cultural such biases in their explanations of behaviour sciences in studying various psychological and and experience in various ways. Some do so by seeking to make their analysis scientific social phenomena. These streams sometimes and objective. Others seek to explain converge only to drift apart and go their behaviour from the point of view of the separate ways. In the first case, psychology considers itself as a discipline, which focuses experiencing persons because they think that largely on biological principles to explain subjectivity is a necessary aspect of human experience. In the Indian tradition, self- human behaviour. It assumes that all reflection and analysis of our conscious behaviouralphenomenahavecauseswhichcan experiences, is held to be a major source of be discovered if we can collect data systematically under controlled conditions. psychological understanding. Many western Here the aim of the researcher is to know the psychologists have also begun to emphasise the role of self-reflection and self-knowledge causeandeffectrelationshipsothataprediction in understanding human behaviour and of the behavioural phenomenon can be made experience. Regardless of the differences in theand behaviour can be controlled if need be. On the other hand, psychology as a social science way psychologists go about the study of focusesonhowbehaviouralphenomenacanbe behaviour, mental processes and experiences, they seek to understand and explain them in explained in terms of the interaction that takes a systematic and verifiable manner. place between the person and the socio- Psychology, though it is a very old cultural context of which s/he is a part. Each behavioural phenomenon is assumed to have knowledge discipline, is a young science, if onemultiple causes. Let us now discuss these two were to take the year of the founding of the first laboratory of psychology in 1879 in streams separately. Leipzig. However, what kind of science is psychology, still remains a matter of debate, Psychology as a Natural Science particularly because of the new interfaces of It has been mentioned earlier that psychology it that have emerged in recent times. has its roots in philosophy. However, modern Psychology is generally categorised as a social psychology has developed because of the science. But it should not come to you as a application of the scientific method to study surprise that, not only in other countries, but psychological phenomenon. Science places a in India also, it is also a subject of study offgreat deal of emphasis on objectivity which in the faculty of science, both at the can be obtained if there is consensus on the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. definition of a concept and how it can be 4 Psychology Reprint 2026-27