Is Psychology A Science?

Psychology is defined formally as an exact science which makes scientific study of all human behavior, both of individuals from childhood up to old age and of crowds because the behavior of the two is very dissimilar. This subject deals with our day to day live problems. It not only studies one's normal behavior, but abnormal behavior as well. Everything in man's make-up, therefore, that allows him to act as he does is within the psychologist's scope. His material is composed of human emotions which, of course, include phobia, love, hate, anger, shy and feelings of that kind. It comprises too, a study of human tendency like the tendency to eat, to sleep, to walk or to construct. Also, the intelligence, the personality and inherited characteristics must be considered before an accurate knowledge of human behavior can be achieved. Psychology is known as an exact science because it examines facts as they are and not as they might be (as is the studies of Ethics).

It is comparably young science, as it is only over the past century or so, that men have perceived it with any seriousness. Men such as the great German psychologist Freud, who put forward theories of the subconscious mind and its mastery over conscious thought; Jung, Adler and McDougall, who thought that instincts were of paramount importance in affecting human behavior, were the great pioneers in the prior days of psychology. Today, most universities globally, have departments of psychology where young men and women tutored for five years and more, to be psychologists and psychiatrists.

Before the exposure of psychology as a recognized science, people were examined to be either sane or insane. In between, there was a stage known as 'queer' or 'soft'. Such stage were never thought of as diseases and not any attempt was ever made to help people labeled 'queer' or 'soft'. Nowadays, things are very dissimilar and in most large cities, both in the East and in the West, there are marked hospitals which deal with the psychologists' patients or the mentally sick as they are called. In smaller towns, there is nearly always special marked wing of the General Hospital which is set aside for other specialists do. Here, it is gripping to know that in supposedly highly advanced countries like America and Britain, the percentage of people who are mentally sick is at peak. In a current survey in Britain, it was observed that one out of every three hospital beds is occupied by the mentally sick.

Psychologists have something to contribute in the world of education. They advise as to the behavior of children, not only of the 'difficult' or special child, but of the normal ones as well. It is the research of educational psychologists which has given us the familiar Intelligence and Mental tests. In these, a norm has to be established and then, when a child is given an Intelligence Test, his position in relation to the norm can be found. Such gestures are frequently used in selecting suitable jobs for children and young people too. Psychologists also have many of the advanced theories behind our modern approach to tutoring and to learning. They are who have suggested the value of visual aid and of practical work rather than theoretical all the time.

Psychologists too, play an essential role in the Industrial World and in the Services. Psychologists are employed to contribute in diverse activities in a variety of settings including schools, hospitals, industries, training institutes, military and government establishments. How much work one can do well, how much rest he needs, how much routine and monotony he can stand; these are all the queries which all businessmen ask psychologists, before new steps are followed or changes made.

In the legal world and in police work, psychology is vital too. It is widely believed today that crime and lawlessness to some extent stem from the fact that normal reactions are not given a normal outlet. Hence, frustrations and inhibitions arise, which lead to minor crimes of exhibitionism right up to molest crimes of murder or may abnormalities of molestation to be found in the modern world. Here, the advice of the psychologist is very valuable not only in the prevention of crime, but in the treatment of the criminal and in his rehabilitation afterwards.

The worth of psychology and of psychologists is therefore crystal clear. There are those who scorn and sneer at it and are all for the old approach where black was black and white was white. The criminal was immoral and the lunatic depressive, or paranoiac or the schizophrenic were maniac. This may well be true in utmost cases, but in between, there is a broad range of people with mental disorders who can be helped by this modern science just as the lives of normal people can be upgraded by a knowledge of what makes them react. Hence, psychology which is the study of man himself should and does play an essential role in his life.