What is Psychology and Why it is Important

What is Psychology and Why it is Important

The word psychology comes from two words, psyche and logos. The first, psyche, can be translated from Greek into “breath of life”, while logos means knowledge or study. Therefore psychology was originally understood as the study of the mind. Behaviorists such as B.F. Skinner and H.B. Watson stated that it was impossible to study the mind, and “even trying to define ‘mind’ is very difficult” (Benson 4). Modern psychologists choose to “concentrate on what is observable and measurable in a persons behavior...thus, a commonly accepted ‘working definition’ is: psychology is the study of the mind and behavior of humans and animals” (Benson 5).
Because psychology is such a broad science, there are several sub-levels, including clinical psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology (Wu 1), each concentrating on th...