An Introduction to Psychology

The original Psychology meaning is “analysis of the soul” (first English known reference in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary which refers to “Anatomy, which treats of the Body, and Psychology, which treats of the Soul”).

What is hidden behind this term?

Basically, Psychology is the science of the mind, which makes it one of the most difficult areas of study because of the human mind’s deep complexity. We can wonder how psychologists can explore such a mysterious thing, which seems to be hidden in the grey matter. In fact, psychology is like any other science: aiming to predict expected conducts and imagine experiments to test and prove theories. Psychology joins a wide range of related disciplines: medicine, linguistics, philosophy, sociology… From this point, several subsystems of psychology emerge. For instance, forensic psychologists evaluate criminal offenders with the aim of presenting evidence in tribunals.

A bit of History…

Some Greek philosophers have written about human behaviours and feelings. For example, Hippocrates formulated the hypothesis of mental illnesses are caused by physical reasons (approximately 4th century B.C.). Centuries after, German physician Wilhelm Wundt made himself known as the founding father of psychology, because he founded the first experimental psychological laboratory in 1879. Several schools of thought have appeared from the 19th century, including existentialism, Gestalt, artificial intelligence and many others… You may have heard of the Austrian physician Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) who developed psychotherapy to treat unconscious conflict, especially about taboo subjects like sexuality. From this time, most of the psychological theories were criticised in order to be improved according to societies’ changes.

Interested in a career in psychology?

A career in psychology is very challenging because it concerns all aspects of life, from education, health, or management. If you want to discover how people think and act, then a career in psychology may be suitable for you. Most psychologists do not work with patients in a medical environment, meaning there are a lot of different jobs that could meet your needs.
Whether you are studying at university or have already started your career (related or not with psychology), our courses are designed to provide students with the appropriate knowledge. For further information about careers in psychology, please have a look on our website!