Understanding major Goals of Psychology
Actually, everyone is so curious to unfold the mysteries of minds one have in the specific situation. We know that mind is so complex factory of mental processes vital to affect and drive human behaviours. Since many centuries, psychologists have been striving to get insight of working of human mind in scientific and systematic ways we call it psychology. In this article, “Understanding goals of psychology” I’m going to present a detailed account of major goals of psychology.
The Science of Psychology is a vast field that encompasses the study of human behavior and mental processes. It aims to understand and explain why individuals behave the way they do and how their thoughts, emotions, and actions are influenced by various factors. The major goals of psychology can be broadly categorized into four areas: description, explanation, prediction, and control.
Explaining Major Goals of psychology
Description, explanation, prediction, control of behaviour, and application are the major goals of psychology mentioned in curriculum of psychology as discipline and science.
1.Description
2.Explanation
3.Prediction
4.Control of Behaviour
5.Application
So, let’s begin understanding major Goals of psychology one by one.
1.Description: Who, what, where
The first goal of psychology is to describe and understand human behavior and mental processes. Psychologists use various research methods, such as observation, surveys, and experiments, to gather data and analyze it.
By describing different aspects of behavior and mental processes, psychologists can better understand how individuals think, feel, and act in different situations.
Description is a process of describing the details of actor in question in terms of “Who, what, and where”. In other words, who is the person? What is the person doing? And, different contexts of his responses.
Goal and purpose of description is to identify the behaviour, patterns of the given actor. Importantly, this goal doesn’t involve explanation why and how the given person is behaving the ways the actor does.
2. Explanation: why and how
Once behavior and mental processes are described, the next goal is to explain them. Psychologists seek to identify the underlying causes and mechanisms that contribute to specific behaviors or mental states. This involves analyzing the influence of biological, psychological, and social factors on human behavior and mental processes.
If you need more information about the given person, you demand why and how the given person behaves the ways the actor does. Also, why and how given person responds differently in different situations or contexts.
3. Prediction
Another important goal of psychology is to predict future behavior or mental states based on current observations and knowledge. By understanding the factors that influence behavior and mental processes, psychologists can make educated predictions about how individuals are likely to behave in certain situations. Behaviour can’t be random, there is connections and interlinks.
The duty of psychologist is to explore the causal interrelations between the responsible factors and resultant behaviour the person displays.
If you go thoroughly through the past patterns and relationships, it is more easier to guess and expect the similar behaviour from the given person in similar context.
Purpose of prediction of behaviour is to make it controllable. Because, it is the goal of every psychologists aspire to know. This allows for better planning and decision-making in various contexts, such as education, business, and clinical settings.
4. Controlling behaviour
The final goal of psychology is to apply the knowledge gained to help individuals and society as a whole. Psychologists aim to develop interventions and strategies to control and modify behavior and mental processes in a positive way.
All the above processes help the researcher to make essential changes to control the acts and behaviour patterns of person.Control of behaviour is not possible until and unless you understand the underlying causal interrelations. The accuracy of explanation is directly proportional to the control of behaviour of person having mental illness.
This can include therapeutic techniques to treat mental disorders, behavior modification programs to promote healthy habits, and interventions to improve educational or work performance.
5. Application
Fifth goal of psychology is application. It may be so diverse and vast including treating mental health, disorders, personality development, building smooth relationships, powering business activities, and cultivating leadership development abilities, etcetera.
Last words on understanding goals of psychology,
Overall, the major goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, control and apply human behavior and mental processes. By achieving these goals, psychologists can contribute to a better understanding of ourselves and others, and ultimately improve the well-being of individuals and society.
Important questions on understanding major goals of psychology
Hereon, you will read important questions on understanding goals of psychology. Just have a look.
Q. 1. What does Psychology means?
Ans: It is a branch of science that deals with the systematic study of mental processes, experiences and behaviours. It studys why and how the ways human behaves the does so?
Q. 2. What are the branches of psychology?
Ans: Social, clinical, cognitive, personality, developmental, psychophysics, experimental, health, forensic, community, school, neuropsychology, counciling, comparative, sport, evolutionary psychology are the major branches of psychology.
Q.3. What are the major goals of psychology?
Ans: Description, explanation, prediction, control of behaviour and application are the major goals of psychology.
Q. 4. What are the Inquiry Methods in psychology
Ans: Descriptive research method, correlational research method, and experimental research method are the major research methods of psychology.