Understanding the Meaning of Psychology The word psychology means the scientific study of human behavior. The word psychology is made up of two Greek words, “psyche” and "logia." The former means implies multiple life principles such as breath, life, and soul. Logia is derived from the Greek word logos, signifying speech, reason, or word. Combing the two words makes the word psychology, which means the knowledge of the sourly. Over time, the word psychologies were further developed to psychology, which is the more comprehensive of the mind and human behavior, William James, the fists psychologist to teach a psychology course in the United States, defined psychology as the science of mental life in 1890. Behaviorists challenged the definition of psychology as the science of mental life, arguing that psychology is more concerned with understanding human behavior, including the cause of behavior, predictions, and how human behavior can b controlled. Therefore, behavorists like John B. Watson posited that phycology is a natural science focusing on understanding the mental processes and how the mind influences human behavior. Different psychologists complete the definition of psychology as a natural science. However, unlike other sciences that focus on the outer world, psychology as a science focuses on the inner world of a human being that influences the outer world. Psychologists like Jessalyn and Wilhelm Wundt emphasize that psychology studies human beings' internal expenses inducing their thought processes, emotions, attitudes, and cognitive processes that influence behavior. Therefore, human behavior is first conceived in mind before manifesting physically. In conclusion, understanding the meaning of the word psychology lays the basis for understanding psychology as a discipline. Different autohides define psychology as a science
that focuses on understanding the human world, including the internal and external environments. Whereas different psychologists focus on particular aspects of the human world, including cognitivism, behaviorism, and human relations, the bottom line is that psychology is a science of human thoughts, mental processes, and the resultant behaviors manifest in the physical environment.