Dualism In Psychology

Psychology is the study of human mental functions and behavior in an attempt to learn from observation in addition to the ability to predict behavior. The study of psychology can be traced back to the ancient civilizations of the Greece, Chinese, and the Egyptians. Psychology was named during a historical period of Greece. The word was evolved from "psyche", which can be taken to have the same meaning as life. Psyche can be translated many ways however each translation continues to link it to the human mind and soul.
During the 17th century a concept known as dualism was introduced to psychology by a French philosopher named Rene Descartes. Dualism is defined as the belief of mind and body being two separate entities that together create mental …show more content…
James developed a study of how an individual 's behavior is beneficial to the individual 's survival by helping them to live in their environment, known as functionalism. Psychologists studying functionalism believed that consciousness consisted of a continuous process and repeated changes. Functionalism is today no longer frequently studied, but many ideas that were developed from functionalism impacted modern psychology. Another school of thought was developed that focused on the breakdown of mental processes, called …show more content…
Modern psychology consists of the seven perspectives which are the focus of study. Psychoanalytic, behavior, humanist, cognitive, neuroscience, evolutionary, and sociocultural make up these seven perspectives. Psychology has come a long way since the beginning of its development, but a few issues still remain. The theory of nature vs. nurture is an example of an issue that is still debated today. It may be hopeless to believe that it is possible to understand the numerous mental capabilities of the human brain, however the information that has been obtained so far has greatly influenced the way human society