Journey into Psychology

The history of psychology as a scientific discipline in Europe and North America and, in turn, in other parts of the world, can be traced to the influence of certain individuals and their contributions towards building particular theories. Where these theories are related to each other and where there is a period of time when they are dominant, they are called a perspective. Each chapter in the book is structured around the contributions of these psychologists and the perspectives they helped shape. For those psychologists, where history has shown they have left a legacy in psychology, a brief biography is offered. There are chapters focused around the contributions of significant psychologists and the perspective they helped shape e.g. on psychoanalysis, behaviourism, humanistic psychology and positive psychology. At different points in all the chapters, a mortar board icon is used to flag critical thinking comments. This is where a critical review of related concepts and studies is offered. To achieve in academic work, appropriate critical comment needs to be offered. Paying close attention to the points made under the mortar boards will help students build their arsenal of critical comments and, more importantly, it will help students develop the mind-set on how to do and evidence critical analysis.