According to the original he says, psychology comes from Ancient Greek: "ψυχή" (psyche meaning soul) and "-λογία" (-logia, which means knowledge) so that in etymology, psychology can be defined by the study of the soul.
As part of science, psychology through a long journey. Even before Wundt declared his laboratory in 1879, which is seen as the birth of psychology as a science. view of humans can be traced far back in time of ancient Greece. It could be argued that the history of psychology in line with the intellectual developments in Europe, and get a pragmatic form in the Americas.
Although there had always been thinking about the study of humans in the period along with the idea of science that studies nature, but because of the complexity and dynamism of human to understand, then created a new psychology as a science since the late 1800s both when Wilhelm Wundt founded the world's first psychological laboratory.
In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Marked by the establishment of this lab, the scientific method to better understanding the human have been found although not very adequate.
with the establishment of this laboratory also, complete the requirements to become a science of psychology, so that in the founding of Wundt laboratory was recognized as the founding date of psychology as a science.
The function of psychology as a science
Psychology as a science has three functions namely:
* Describe, that is able to explain what, how, and why the behavior occurred. The result is a description or explanation which is descriptive topics.
* Predicting, that is able to forecast or predict what, how, and why the behavior occurred. The result of prediction of prognosis, prediction or estimation
* Control, that is controlling the behavior as expected. Realization of measures that are preventive or prevention, intervention or treatment, and rehabilitation or treatment.
Psychology study
Psychology is the science of a broad and ambitious, furnished by biology and neuroscience at the border with the natural sciences and equipped by the sociology and anthropology at the border with the social sciences. Some psychology studies include the following:
1. Developmental psychology
Is a field of study of psychology that studies human development and the factors that shape one's behavior from birth to advanced age. Psychological development is closely related to social psychology, because most development occurs in the context of social interaction. And also closely related to the psychology of personality, because the development of individuals can form a distinctive personality of the individual.
2. Social Psychology
This field has 3 scopes, namely:
* The study of social influences on individual processes, for example: the study of perception, learning motivation, attribution.
* The study of individual processes together, such as language, social attitudes, behaviors and imitate others
* The study of group interaction, such as leadership, communication, power relations, cooperation in groups, and competition.
3. Personality psychology
Is a field of study of psychology that studies human behavior in adapting to their environment, personality psychology is closely related to developmental psychology and social psychology, because personality is the result of individual development from a young age and how the individual in social interaction with their environment.
4. Cognitive Psychology
Is a field of study of psychology that studies the ability of cognition, such as: perception, learning, memory skills, attention, language skills and emotion.