Definition of Psychology.

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Psychology:

The term psychology comes from two Greek words: psyche, which means

1. The spirit or soul.
2. The human mind.
3. In psychoanalysis, the mind functioning as the center of thought, emotion, and behavior.

 And logos, "the study of." or according to modern researches “science”

These root words were first combined in the 16th century, at a time when the human soul, spirit, or mind was seen as distinct from the body.

Definition of Psychology:

Psychology is one of the youngest sciences. It is still going through the process of its development. There has been much fierce controversy about its definition. It has been variously defined as the science of soul, the science of mind, the science of consciousness, the science of behavior.

The science of soul:

Psychology was first defined as the science of soul. But it was not excepted, for the reason that it had too much of religious flavour. Soul generally conveys the idea of a supernatural thing. it is immortal, beyond one’s control. It is not easy to observe and study the soul so this theory was discarded.

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The science of mind:

Then, Psychology was defined as the science of mind. Later , it was changed to mental processes, by Psychologists as Hume and Tichener. This "invisible" world of mind involves many different aspects, functions and potentials. Imagination, attention, intellect, awareness, intention, reason, will, responsibility, memory, and many other things exist in each of us. They are a vital and important part of us. This definition was not rejected but it was considered incomplete.

The science of Consciousness:

William James defined Psychology as being the science of consciousness. Being conscious means to be aware of the ambience .This ...

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The Quality of Written Communication (QWC) is good. The candidate approaches specialist vocabulary well and maintains accurate spelling and grammar throughout their answer. The use of more complex punctuation could lead to a more confident-sounding answer though, so incorporating semi-colons and colons would prove a good idea if candidates were looking to bump up their QWC marks.

The Level of Analysis is sound. I like the different approaches that candidate makes in considering how Psychology is thought of and what practises it endorses. It outlines (quite vaguely) the different approaches and perspectives to Psychology but also identifies the link that strings them all together, suggesting that Psychology is a science of behaviour and explaining that behaviour. To improve on this section, the candidate could look to explaining why their is a "fierce controversy" around the belief that Psychology is or isn't a science. They might consider how it qualifies as a science; what is a science and how is one identified; why might Psychology not be objective. The qualities of a science is that the investigations conducted are objective, replicable and have a provable hypothesis, and so of course, some studies instantly contradict the requirements of scientific merit (here would be a good place to provide examples). In fact, the one main issue I have with this essay is the lack of examples of psychological research that could've fortified the explanations of Psychology. With so much effort put into the different explanations and approaches, a few good studies clearly defining the differences between the approaches (e.g. Milgram for Social; Brunner, et al. for Biological; Loftus & Palmer for Cognitive; Farrington, et al. for Developmental, etc.). This would show the examiners a greater knowledge of Psychology and how to apply theory into practice.

This is a deceptively hard question that many would believe to be quite easy in it's apparent straight-fowardness, but it is a very vague question that requires a huge amount of knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the principles Psychology bases itself on to answer correctly. This candidate does a very good job though I feel they spend a little too much time talking about the inception of Psychology rather than what it means in today's society. It is not a requirement to focus on the birth of Psychology at lengths so the first quarter of the essay elicits very few marks as it is an example of where what is written is good but does not focus on the question; candidates must avoid this as even if what is written is right, it is a waste of time if it does not pertain to the proposed question.