Understanding the Human Mind: From Psychoanalysis to Cognitivism
Notion of Psychology: Definition and Etymology
It is of Greek origin, derived from the nouns Psyche (soul) and Logos (reason, science). Psychology is the science whose object of study is the soul.
Conceptual Definition
The science that studies the mind and the importance of psychosocial processes in activity. Today, psychology has experienced significant development. It is a science that studies humans and finds applications in any field of human activity. The history of psychology stretches back to ancient Greece. Aristotle wrote a treatise entitled “About the Soul.” However, it separated from philosophy in the early nineteenth century. Science experienced rapid development with the rise of positivism.
Positivism Principle
Positivism is a cutting-edge approach that affirms the need for objective facts to arrive at the truth. Anything that cannot be proven through concrete facts of experience lacks any value for understanding. The development of psychology can be summarized in the following ideas:
- Crisis of traditional religions in the world today.
- Accelerated pace of life and development.
Crisis in Traditional Religions
There is a constant need for religious leaders capable of guiding the faithful in developing their life projects. Formerly, it was customary to go to a confessor, who provided relief from personal problems and burdens. Today, fewer people attend confessions, even among believers. This phenomenon can be explained by the loss of credibility and legitimacy of religion, which is now part of the private sphere. Fewer people are pursuing religious vocations. Humans need emotional and intellectual support, which is no longer provided by religion. Psychology has replaced it. It was once considered unusual to see a psychologist, but in today’s competitive world, stress levels are high, leading to increased rates of drug addiction, alcoholism, divorce, and family violence. People are experiencing a lower quality of life due to pollution and individualism.
Development of Psychology
The development of psychology is part of the overall development of science. Since the nineteenth century, discoveries, inventions, and investigations have intensified. Major application fields include education, forensics, advertising, industry, and labor.
Psychotherapy: Definition
Psychoanalysis defines psychology as the “science that studies the subconscious.” The creator of psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychiatrist who lived between 1856 and 1939. Freud discovered the unconscious, a state of consciousness that manifests in dreams, errors, and slips of the tongue. For Freud, the unconscious is the determinant of behavior and personality. Psychoanalysis is still relevant today, and several universities offer courses guided by its principles. Psychoanalysis-oriented therapy aims to guide the individual to manifest the subconscious. Personality disorders or psychological pathologies are caused by trauma, a tragic and traumatic event that occurred at some point in the subject’s past life, especially during childhood.
Behaviorism: Definition
Behaviorism is a psychological doctrine from the mid-twentieth century. Its main proponent is B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist. Its principles are founded on positivism, according to which only what can be demonstrated in actual fact has value. The antecedent of this psychological approach is the classical conditioning of Pavlov (Russian). Behaviorism focuses on conduct, which can be verified through direct observation. It does not rule on the existence or nonexistence of a substrate of the human spirit. It cannot affirm the existence of a spiritual soul. In this sense, psychology loses its original object of study. If before it was the study of the soul, with behaviorism, we are facing an unarmed psychology.
Cognitivism: Definition
Cognitivism is a set of contemporary psychological guidelines that accept the existence of a spiritual foundation called the mind or consciousness. This psychological science studies the mind, its operations, and processes in the human being as a subject of cognitive processes.
Cognitive Processes
The cognitive processes studied are:
- Perception
- Memory
- Intelligence
- Learning
- Thought
- Language
Perception: Etymological Definition
The word comes from the Latin verb perceptio, which means “to collect.” It indicates the idea of collecting or gathering information.
Conceptual Definition
Perception is an operation of consciousness that takes place through a process in which the senses receive information from the outside world. It is a cognitive operation that refers to knowledge, indicating a purpose to know the world and determine what things are in the outside world. Perception is the first cognitive act of consciousness and is conditional on other cognitive processes. Nothing comes to mind if it has not gone through perception. It is a complex operation that occurs in two stages: top-down and bottom-up.
Sensation vs. Perception
It is necessary to distinguish between sensation and perception. Perception has a biological aspect, which is sensation, and a cognitive aspect, which is perception itself.
Cognitive Processes:
- Consciousness (self): Perception, Learning, Thinking
- Power (capacity): Memory, Language, Intelligence
All cognitive processes are based on language. Thought is nothing but a constructive process.
Consciousness: Definition
Consciousness organizes information from the senses. It flows continuously and has a narrow focus that varies depending on different circumstances, such as the subject’s interests or the intensity of the stimulus. The organization and discovery of the meaning of sense data depend on other psychological processes.
Illusion vs. Hallucination
It is necessary to differentiate between illusion and hallucination. An illusion is a distorted perception of reality. There is an objective external stimulus, but several factors cause the sense data to be misunderstood. A hallucination is a symptom of an abnormality in the psyche. It occurs in the subject even though there is no reason in the world for such a phenomenon. Examples of hallucinations include seeing people, animals, or objects, and hearing sounds or music.
Perception: Main Aspects
- Habituation: A person gets used to a stimulus after receiving it for a while and stops focusing their attention on it.
- Immunization: The stimulus is fully or partially imperceptible to the person if their attention is not focused on it.
- Selective Attention: The nervous system’s ability to differentiate between central and accessory stimuli.
Purpose of Perception, Difference Between Human and Irrational Perception
For human beings, the purpose of perception coincides with the aim of all cognitive operations: to determine what things are in the outside world. Thanks to perception, individuals can respond to the demands of the world and act. In irrational beings, perception is subordinate to instinct. Irrational beings have developed a sensory system of perception according to their capacity to adapt, such as the hearing of bats, the smell of dogs, and the vision of birds of prey.
Concept of Absolute Threshold
The absolute threshold for humans is the minimum level of a stimulus that an individual can normally perceive. For example, the ticking of a clock at 6 meters in a noise-free environment or a spoonful of sugar dissolved in 7 liters of water.
Problems with Perception
- No two or more people perceive the same thing through their senses.
- The senses are not reliable ways of knowing the world.
- Perception can be manipulated according to the subject’s interests.
- Without higher cognitive operations (reasoning, analysis, experience), it would not be possible to overcome a perceptual error.