Psychology as a subject

Psychology, translated from Greek, is doctrine, knowledge of the soul (“psyukh” means the soul, “logos” means doctrine, knowledge). This is the science of the laws of the mental life and activity of man and various forms of communities of people. Psychology as a science studies the facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche (A. V. Petrovsky). The object of psychology is a person not only a specific and individual person, but also various social groups, masses and other forms of communities of people and other highly organized animals, the characteristics of the psychic life of which are studied in such a branch of psychology as zoopsychology. However, traditionally, the main object of psychology is man. In this case, psychology is the science of the laws governing the emergence, formation, development, functioning, and manifestations of the psyche of people in different conditions and at different stages of their life and activity.

The subject of study of psychology is the psyche. In the most general form, the psyche is the inner spiritual world of a person: his needs and interests, desires and desires, attitudes, value judgments, attitudes, experiences, goals, knowledge, skills, behavioral skills and activities. The human psyche is manifested in his statements, emotional states, facial expressions, pantomime, behavior and performance, their results and other externally expressed reactions: for example, reddening (blanching) of the face, sweating, changes in heart rhythm, blood pressure etc. It is important to remember that a person can hide his real thoughts, attitudes, experiences, and other psychiatric states.

The main task of psychology is the knowledge of the origins and characteristics of the psyche of people, the laws of its occurrence, formation, functioning and manifestations, the possibilities of the human psyche, its influence on human behavior and activity. Another equally important task of psychology is to develop recommendations for people to increase their stress resistance and psychological reliability in solving professional and other tasks in various circumstances of life and activity.

In general, psychology as a science performs two main functions: as a fundamental science, it is intended to develop a psycho-logical theory, to identify patterns of individual and group psyche of people and its individual phenomena; as an applied field of knowledge - to formulate recommendations for the improvement of professional activity and everyday life of people.

Any science, and psychology, all the more, cannot be limited to a description of psychological facts, because any phenomenon obeys the laws and requires explanation, which means that in psychology psychological laws are the subject of study. The task on which psychology works is to study the laws of mental activity in its development, to identify the links between the social and natural properties of man. Psychology as a science should reveal the essence of the phenomena studied, this is its purpose.

The main categories of psychology advanced by B.F. Lomov:

• •    Reflection;

• •    Activity;

• •    Personality;

• •    Communication;

• •    The concepts of "social" and "biological".

To create the scientific basis of psychology, the solution of social problems of great importance is the study of the system of mental phenomena that are aimed at disclosing objective laws.

The soul, as a subject of psychology at different historical times, had a different meaning, and its main purpose was to impart activity to the body. The soul was considered the basis of the world and the fundamental principle of the body in the era of Antiquity, and the body itself, according to the ideas of scientific psychologists, was an inert mass that must be set in motion. In the Middle Ages, the soul becomes the subject of theology and the field of study is the study of all types of body activity and the entire sensory knowledge of the world. Not to the material soul, but to the prerogative of the divine will attributed volitional behavior, logical thinking. The subject of psychology in modern times becomes consciousness, therefore, psychology tends to become objective and rational, based on reason and evidence, and not on faith. Scientific psychology received its formalization relatively recently, in 1879, when the German psychologist Wundt opened the first laboratory in Leipzig. Before the advent of psychology, two large areas of knowledge developed: natural sciences and philosophy. It turns out that psychology is a special type of science.

Intriguing for psychologists was the task of understanding the causes and patterns of a person’s actions, his inner world, and the laws of behavior in society. How a person has mental images, what is consciousness, creativity and what are their mechanisms. Psychology, which since its inception should find answers to many, many questions, balances between science, art, and faith.