Introduction To Educational Psychology

MIT-WPU
School of Education
Course- Psychology -The Science of Learning and Behaviour
Unit-Perspectives of Educational Psychology
Presented By-
Bharati Saikrupa
Ph.D Student
Objectives
On completion of this unit ,you will be able to
● Understand meaning and definitions of Psychology
● Understand meaning ,nature,and scope of educational Psychology
● Understand the Schools of Psychology and its educational implications
● Understand the concept and theories of Intelligence and Motivation
Psychology: Its origin and Evolution
The origin of psychology dates back to 1870s.
The term ‘Psychology’ is derived from two
Greek words; Psyche means “soul or breath” and Logos means “knowledge
or study” (study or investigation of something).
Psychology emerged as an independent academic discipline in 1879, when a
German Professor Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology
laboratory at the university of Leipzig, Germany.
Wundt is traditionally recognised as the founder, or father of the modern
psychology.
Wundt started studying the structure of mind which meant the immediate
(conscious) experience, the contents and processes of subjective experience
such as sensations, thoughts, feelings and emotions. Thus, formally,
psychology was recognised as an independent science in 1879.
Psychologists had been debating on whether psychology
should focus on “mind”, “consciousness” or “behaviour”.
Psychology as the Science of Soul - In ancient days, the Greek philosophers like Plato
and Aristotle interpreted Psychology as the science of the soul and studied it as a branch
of Philosophy. But soul is something metaphysical. It cannot be seen, observed and
touched and we cannot make scientific experiments on soul.
Psychology as the Science of the Mind - It was the German philosopher Emmanuel
Kant who defined Psychology as the science of the mind.
William James (1892) defined psychology as the science of mental processes. But the
word ‘mind’ is also quite ambiguous as there was confusion regarding the nature and
functions of mind.
Psychology as the Science of Consciousness - Modern psychologists defined psychology
as the “Science of Consciousness”. James Sully (1884) defined psychology as the
“Science of the Inner World”. Wilhelm Wundt (1892) defined psychology as the science
which studies the “internal experiences’. But there are three levels of consciousness –
conscious, subconscious and the unconscious and so this definition also was not accepted
by some.
Psychology as the Science of Behaviour - At the beginning of the 20th century, when
psychologists attempted to develop psychology into a pure science, it came to be defined
as the science of behaviour. The term behaviour was popularized by J.B. Watson. Other
exponents are William Mc Dugall and W.B. Pillsbury.
According to R.S. Woodworth, “First Psychology lost its soul, then it lost its mind, then
lost its consciousness. It still has behaviour of a sort.”
Definitions of Psychology
● B.F. Skinner defined, “Psychology is the science of behaviour and
experience.”
● Crow and Crow, “Psychology is the study of human behaviour and
human relationships.”
● William Mc Dougall, “Psychology is the science which aims to give us
better understanding and control of the behaviour of the organism as a
whole.”
● Kurt Koffka, “Psychology is the scientific study of the behaviour of
living creatures in their contact with the outer world.”
What is Behaviour ?
Behaviour is every thing or any thing that a human being or animal does that
can be observed in some way.
It includes all actions and responses of organisms that can be measured directly
or indirectly. Behaviour not only means bodily movements but also can include
mental and cognitive processes such as feelings, attitudes, thoughts, emotions,
and all other internal vents, which cannot be observed directly but can be
measured indirectly through what people say (vocal behaviour) and how they
react to different problems and situations.
H.W - Discuss the characteristics of Human Behaviour .
Educational Psychology
It is one of the branches of psychology to study the behaviour of the learner in
relation to his education.
It is concerned with suggesting ways and means of improving the process and
products of education, enabling the teacher to teach effectively and the learners to
learn effectively with the minimum effort.
It deals with the application of psychological findings in the field of education. It
deals with the human behaviour in educational situations. It is the systematic study
of the development of the individual in the educational settings. It is the scientific
study of human behaviour by which it can be understood, predicated and directed
by education to achieve goals of life.
Definitions of Educational Psychology
• C.E. Skinner: “Educational psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with
teaching and learning”.
• Crow and Crow: “Educational psychology describes and explains learning experience of
an individual from birth to old age”.
• Trow describes, “Educational psychology is the study of psychological aspects of
educational situations”.
• Stephens says, “Educational psychology is the study of educational growth and
development”.
• Judd describes educational psychology as, “a scientific study of the life stages in the
development of an individual from the time he is born until he becomes an adult.”
Educational psychology helps the teacher to understand the development
of his pupils, the range and limits of their capacities, the processes by
which they learn and their social relationships.
It is concerned primarily with understanding the processes of teaching and

learning that take place within formal environments and developing ways of
improving those methods. It covers important topics like learning theories;
teaching methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional, and moral development;
and parent-child relationships etc.
In short, it is the scientific discipline that addresses the questions: “Why do
some students learn more than others?” and “What can be done to
improve that learning?”
Objectives of Teaching Educational Psychology
1. To develop an understanding and appreciation of the dietary and environmental factors
which underline learning ability.
2. To provide base for understanding the nature and principles of learning and to supply the
techniques for its improvement.
3. To understand and appreciated factors influencing individual ability to learn.
4. To provide understanding of the external factors like training aids, libraries, classrooms
which are largely within the control of the teacher and the institution.
5. To evaluate teaching efficiency.
6. To develop an appreciation of the individual and importance of the individual with their
individual differences.
Scope of educational psychology tells us the areas of application. In
other words, it can be called the subject matter of educational
psychology.
1. Human Behaviour.
2.Growth and development.
3.The Learner.
4.The Learning Experiences. H.W- Discuss the relevance of
5.Learning process. Educational Psychology for
6.Learning Situation or Environment. Teachers
7.Evaluation of learning process.
8.. Individual differences.
9.Personality and adjustment.
10.The Teacher.
11.Guidance and Counselling.
Nature Of Educational Psychology
1. Educational Psychology is a science - (Science is a branch of study concerned with
observation of facts and establishment of verifiable general laws. Science employs certain
objective methods for the collection of data. It has its objectives of understanding,
explaining, predicting and control of facts.) Like any other science, educational
psychology has also developed objective methods of collection of data. It also aims at
understanding, predicting and controlling human behaviour.
2. Educational Psychology is a natural science - An educational psychologist conducts his
investigations, gathers his data and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same manner as
physicist or the biologist.
3. Educational psychology is a social science - Like the sociologist, anthropologist,
economist or political scientist, the educational psychologist studies human beings
and their sociability.
4. Educational psychology is a positive science - Normative science like Logic or
Ethics deals with facts as they ought to be. A positive science deals with facts as they
are or as they operate. Educational psychology studies the child’s behaviour as it is,
not, as it ought to be.
5. Educational psychology is an applied science - It is the application of
psychological principles in the field of education. By applying the principles and
techniques of psychology, it tries to study the behaviour and experiences of the
pupils. As a branch of psychology it is parallel to any other applied psychology.
6. Educational psychology is a developing or growing science - It is concerned with new
and ever new researches. As research findings accumulate, educational psychologists get
better insight into the child’s nature and behaviour.
Thus, educational psychology is an applied, positive, social, specific and practical science.
While general science deals with behaviour of the individuals in various spheres,
educational psychology studies the behaviour of the individual in educational sphere only.
So to conclude ,educational psychology has contributed considerably to the
creation of the modern system of education. In teaching, we are dealing with
three elements – the teacher, the student, and the subject. It has helped
teachers, headmasters, administrators, inspectors, guidance and counselling
workers, social workers to significantly develop an impartial and sympathetic
attitude towards children and form them into integrated personalities.

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It is concerned primarily with understanding the processes of teaching and

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