Published: 2005-12-30

Psychology needs life

Ryszard Kulik

Abstract

Psychology as a science has been developing for over 100 years. During this time, a characteristic pattern of its development can be observed, closely linked to changes occurring in other scientific fields as well. Initially, scientific psychology focused mainly on describing and studying relatively simple human reactions to external stimuli. Such reactions included sensations (colors, sounds, smells, tastes), which were treated as "psychological atoms." The task of psychologists was to determine the relationships between these sensations and the principles governing their combination. This approach was based on the assumption that complex psychological structures are formed from simple elements (sensations), similar to how chemical atoms form more complex structures. The next stage in psychology's development was the emergence of depth psychology, which dealt with unconscious phenomena. While the human psyche was composed of distinct, stable elements, such as the id, ego, and superego, it was understood in a dynamic way. Human behavior was seen as being driven from within, manifesting the tensions between different components of the psyche. However, the way an individual's psyche was shaped resulted from personal childhood experiences. Through relationships with parents or other significant figures, a child built the foundations of their personality. As we can see, although psychology remained focused on the individual, in explaining behavior, it referred to internal dynamics primarily influenced by past family experiences. The external world gained greater significance in behavioral psychology than in psychoanalysis. Behaviorists developed a fundamental paradigm for explaining human behavior, based on two key elements: stimulus and response.

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Kulik, R. (2005). Psychology needs life. Chowanna, 1(24), 108–120. https://doi.org/10.31261/CHOWANNA.2005.24.08

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Domyślna okładka

Vol. 1 No. 24 (2005)
Published: 2025-08-18


ISSN: 0137-706X
eISSN: 2353-9682

Publisher
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego | University of Silesia Press

Licence CC Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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