Unit 1: Eastern Perspectives in Psychology

 The rise of Psychology in India

 Indianphilosophies and psychology: Buddhism,
Yoga and others
 Spirituality and Psychology
 Research perspectives in Indian Psychology
Concept of Psychology
 Psychologyis the scientific study of the mind and
behavior, according to the American Psychological
Association.
 Psychologyis a multifaceted discipline and
includes many sub-fields of study such areas as
human development, sports, health, clinical,
social behavior and cognitive processes.
 The origin of psychology dates back to 1870s. The
term ‘Psychology’ is derived from two Greek
words; Psyche means “soul or breath” and Logos
means “knowledge or study” (study or
investigation of something).
 The word ‘Psychology’ was not in common use
before the nineteenth century, and the field of
psychology did not actually become an
independent science until the middle of the
nineteenth century.
Definitions
 Psychology is the science of human and animal behaviour. It
includes the application of this science to human problems.
(Morgan et al., 1986)
 The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
(Feldman,1996)
 The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental
state and external environment (Tavris and Wade, 1997)
 Psychology is all about human behaviour, about mental
processes, and about the context in which behaviour and
mental processes occur. (Das, 1998)
 The science of behaviour and mental processes. (Lahey,1998)
 The science of behaviour and cognitive processes. (Baron,
1999)
 Scientific study of behaviour and mind. (Nairne, 2003)
A science in which behavioural and other evidence is used to
understand the internal processes leading people (and
members of other species ) to behave as they do. (Eysenck,
2004)
 The scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.
(Ciccarelli & Meyer,2006; Coon & Mitterer, 2007, 2008)
 The science that studies behaviour and mental processes.
( Rathus,2008)
Nature and Characteristics of Behaviour
 Behaviour is influenced by a number of factors
 Behaviour varies in complexity
 Factors influencing behaviour are of different kind
 Individual differences
 Behaviour also shows similarities
 Behaviour is always purposeful and goal directive
 Behaviour is changeable to a large extent
 Behaviour also shows stability
 Behaviour is integrated
The rise of Psychology in India
 Indian psychology refers to the rich body of knowledge that we
have inherited from our ancient thinkers about consciousness,
mind, and behaviour embedded in the three major traditions
viz., Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
 Since most of the material related to the nature of
consciousness, self, and mental activities emerged and
developed as part of religious and spiritual teachings and
practices in these traditions they are viewed either as religious
or as philosophical. Those topics are discussed quite often in
religious discourses and philosophical debates in India, but
their psychological import and significance have remained
obscure to both lay people and scholars and professionals.
 Our traditions are like gold mines. Gold is
available all over in the pits. But we need to
extract it by separating it from the earth.
 In the same way, we have to examine the
traditional Indian sources to get perspectives
on the nature of consciousness and mind for a
better understanding of human nature and
behaviour.
 Indian psychology is not only for Indians but it
is for all humanity.
 Five
different ways of understanding Indian
psychology are as follows:

 Psychology in India – Many writers particularly

those who are not professional psychologists like
travellers, scholars from other disciplines, and a
few foreign psychologists use the term Indian
psychology in a general way to refer to the
academic and professional status of the
psychology discipline in India. All the other
usages listed below can also be included here.
 Indianpsychological thought – This is the
primary sense in which the term is used for
over a century. It refers to the psychological
insights that are available in the scholarly
literature produced by thinkers in the Vedic,
Jaina and Bauddha traditions, which are the
most ancient and indigenous to our country.

 Many people are actively involved in

developing them. They include Indians as well
as foreigners.
 Psychology with an Indian identity – The terms
like Vedic Psychology, Buddhist Psychology, Yoga
Psychology, Hindu Psychology, Jaina Psychology,
and Dravidian Psychology have been used by
some, all of which are part of Indian thought
traditions and reflect Indianness.
 Herealso we find the contributions of people
from all over the world.
 Psychology developed around the philosophy of an
Indian thinker – Though modern psychology is an
outcome of the collective work of many scientists,
we often come across different schools whose
foundation was laid by the philosophical vision of
one particular individual.
 In India, a contemporary example is that of
Integral Psychology that was inspired by the
integral vision of Maharshi Aurobindo. We find both
Indians and foreigners who are followers of Sri
Aurobindo’s vision and teachings contributing to
the development of Integral Psychology
 Psychology of Indian people – Those who
adhere to socio-cultural viewpoint primarily
emphasize on understanding the behaviour of
Indian masses. They are not very particular
about employing Indian indigenous concepts
and theories. They use Western ideas and
methods also.
 For example, Sudhir Kakkar, an Indian born
psychologist trained in Psychoanalysis under
Erik Erikson has applied psychoanalytic theory
to understand the Indian psyche and has
published several books and articles.
 To understand it more clearly, let us see what Indian
psychology is ‘not’
 Indian psychology is not the indigenous psychology of
a specific group or tribe living in India.
 Itis not indigenizing psychology, which means to
adapt Western psychological theories and models to
suit the Indian context.
 Itis not limited to the people living within the
geographical boundaries of India.
 Whileit helps to understand the behaviour of Indian
masses, it is not the psychology of Indian people.
The goal was to seek enduring harmony of
spirit, mind and body for everlasting
happiness

In contemporary literature, this broad field

of inquiry is referred to as ‘Indian
The rise
Psychology’.

of
These rich traditions, however, had little
bearing on academic psychology implanted
in India as a Western science during the
Psychology
British colonial rule
Scientific psychology with laboratory work
in India
was a novel approach, not having any
parallel in traditional Indian psychology.
History of Psychology in India

 Word Document
Indian philosophies and psychology
 The term Indian psychology refers to the
psychologically relevant philosophies or schools
of thoughts present in ancient Indian scriptures,
mainly those belonging to Hinduism, Jainism, and
Buddhism.
 AncientIndian scriptures put emphasis on the
idea of Nirvana or self-realisation.
 In the 1960s, Abraham Maslow proposed his theory
of self-actualisation and transcendental self-
actualisation. The plethora of knowledge Indian
scriptures contained was already known to the
world in some way or other. After Maslow’s works,
the scriptures also became relevant
psychologically.
 Ancient Indian psychology was a vast subject,
spanning over several centuries, with the
knowledge coming from various sources.
Rudimentary theories of consciousness were
present during the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300-
1300 BCE). The Buddhist philosophies of Four
Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path, the Buddhist
techniques of meditation are of considerable
significance in modern psychology.
 The chunk of Indian philosophy comes from the
Vedas, the holy books of the Hindus, and the
Vedantas. The Vedas (lit. The Books of Knowledge
or The Books of Enlightenment) are a collection of
four books and contain knowledge of the way the
soul perceives the world. The Vedas were
followed by the Vedantas.
 The Vedantas (lit. The End of the Vedas), also
known as the Upanishads, contain the various
Vedanta philosophies and led to the foundation of
various school thoughts, and is more relevant to
the field of psychology.
 The Bhagvat Gita is probably the most well-known
Upanishad. It gives a quintessence of Indian way
of life and philosophy and describes the four
yogas- Karma, Bhakti, Raja, and Gyana.
Interestingly, Maslow’s theory of Meta-motivation
is very similar to the concept of Nishakama Karma
outlined in the Gita.
 Ancient Indian scholar Shankar (8th century AD)
wrote on the different yogas and was instrumental
in the foundation of the Advaita philosophy. His
writings are considered as classics and are
considered to be of great value to the psychology
of consciousness and personal growth.
 Evidence and various works of scholars suggest
that the psychosomatic relationships were also
well known in ancient India. The very first
invocatory stanza of Ashtangahridaya desribes how
emotions like desire lead to mental and physical
diseases.
  Vedas
 Upanishadas
 Ayurved-Charaksamhita
Various  Bhagvadgita

Philosophies  VaiseshikaSutra
 Sufi
 Gandhian Philosophy
 Dnyaneshwari
 Philosophy of Yogi Arbindo
 Dasbodhby RamdasSwami
 Budhhism
 Yogasutraby Patanjali
 The Vedas (वेद:)
 a VEDAS
large body of religious texts originating in ancient India.
 Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest
layer of Sanskrit literature and the
oldest scriptures of Hinduism
 There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda,
the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda.
 Each Veda has four subdivisions –
the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions),
the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and
symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on
rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices)
 Many of the mantras of the Veda deal with the
concept of an all-sided perfection of human life
and modes of its realization.
 The ideal of an all-sided perfection has been
mentioned in several so-called ‘New Age’ and
self-help books.
Speaking of the fruit of action, the Veda tells us
that every action done consciously as an offering to
the god automatically results in the release of
delight or joy. The work not only gives its intended
result but also joy. (relevant with mindfulness )
UPANISHADAS
 There are total 108 Upanishadas.
 Theaim of all Upanishads is to investigate the
nature of Ātman (self), and "directing the enquirer
toward it."
 Upanishadas explain the self and personality
structure with the help of concept-Kosha.
 Theseare-Annamaya Kosha, Pranamaya kosha,
Manomaya kosha, Vidnyanmaya Kosha, Anandmaya
Kosha
 Theyalso talked about factors that affected these
koshas determine human behaviour.
 Theidea of invoking the spirit all the time, as
part of a spiritual attitude towards life is
mentioned in the Upaniṣad, and by medieval
saints such as Sri Madhvacharya, and others.
 Annamay This is the sheath of the physical (body)
self, the grossest of the five koshas, named from the
fact that it is nourished by food
 Pranamaya means composed of prana, the vital
principle, the force that vitalizes and holds together
the body and the mind.
 Manomaya means composed of manas or mind
 ijñānamaya means composed of vijñāna, or
intellect, the faculty which discriminates,
determines
 Anandamaya means composed of ananda, or bliss
 Bhagvadgita is a text where Lord Krishna adviced
Arjuna when he was facing approach-avoidance
conflict during war.
 Bhagvadgita has many concepts which we can see in
contemporary Psychology like, techniques of
counseling, Gratitude, having stable balanced mind,
emotional regulation and so on.
 Sthitapradnyaiaaconcept given in Bhagvadgita
which means Stable (Sthita) mind/intelligence
(pradnya=budhhi).
 Itmeans the person who has this quality does not
get collapsed in sorrow, unfavorable and
traumatic situation and doesn’t get overwhelmed
when happiness is there in the situation.
 He or she is able to regulate and manage
emotions effectively. Nothing is in extreme
rather in balanced way.
Life lesson from Bhagavad Gita
 Concentrate on your work don’t worry about the result.(Just live the life
and that is it don’t get worried about productivity.)
 Do not be afraid.
 Anger makes you deceptive.
 Do not doubt.
 Always keep control.
 Control your desires.
 Whatever happens, happen for good.
 Do not run away from responsibility.
 You are born empty-handed you have to leave this earth empty-handed.
 Anger and greed are destructive.
YOGSUTRA

YOGASUTRA
In the fifth century B.C., Patanjali explained deep
thought about Psychology in Yog sutra.
 He was the Yogi having a great scientific vision.
 Hestudies levels of human consciousness and proposed
ways to evolve spiritually.
 His theory of ashtang yoga is useful today also.
 It also helps us to control our wishes and desires.
Buddhism
 Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed
from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit:
“Awakened One” who has awakened from the sleep
of ignorance and achieved freedom from suffering. ),
a teacher who lived in northern India between.
 Spreading from India to Central and Southeast
Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played
a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life
of Asia, and, beginning in the 20th century, it spread
to the West.
4 Truths
 the truth of suffering,
 the truth of the cause of suffering,
 the truth of the end of suffering,
 the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.
Eightfold path
 Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the end of
suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path.
 The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are
 Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right
Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and
Right Concentration.
 His therapeutic methods helped millions of people
throughout the centuries.

Today the Western world has realized the psychological

Buddha was a essence of Buddhism. Many Psychotherapeutic systems
in the West are derived from Buddha's teaching.
unique
psychotherapis Buddha showed empathy and non-judgmental
acceptance to everyone who came to him. He helped
t people to gain insight and helped in growth promotion
while eliminating troubling and painful emotions.
His therapeutic methods are exceptional and can be
applied for all times.
 Mindfulness is both a skill and an attitude toward living that
Mindfulness
originated thousandsand Buddhism
of years ago as part of Buddhist
philosophy.
 The Buddha believed that although pain is inevitable, suffering
is not. Suffering results from our attempts to cling to pleasure
and push away pain.
 Mindfulness is an open, compassionate attitude toward your
inner experience that creates a healthy distance between you
and your stressful thoughts and feelings, giving you the space
to choose how to respond to them.
 The ancient Indian scriptures also analysed the mental states, and
classified and differentiated them in details. The ancient scholars also
invested lot of time in studying paranormal powers and laid their
knowledge down in details. The study of paranormal and psychic
activities is now dealt in a separate branch of psychology known as
parapsychology.
 Indian philosophy asserted from the earliest starting point to build up
its mysticism or accept its transcendentalism on very much grounded
realities of experience. Experience however was something that
included not just the physical tactile sorts of experience nor the
balanced procedures of conclusion and inductive sorts of thinking nor
their misrepresentations and hallucinations, nor even analogies as a
matter of fact and possible sorts of surmising, it incorporates such sorts
of experience that pass by the name of innovative creative ability and
direct disclosures that are not only additionally tangible but rather
 Spiritualityis often linked to disciplines such as religion,
philosophy, or neurology (neurologist V. Ramachandran has shown
that mentally healthy people have increased activity in the
temporal lobe when exposed to spiritual words or topics) and is
currently also object of attention of psychology, more directly in
transpersonal and humanistic psychology (among whose references
are A. Maslow, G. Allport, and C. Rogers) that include spirituality
as part of an integrated and multidimensional conception of the
human being (as a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual reality).
 Within the field of psychology, the psychologists point out
spirituality as the personal search to understand the answers to
the last questions about life, its meaning, and the relationship
with the sacred or the transcendent, which may or may not lead
to the development of religious rituals and the formation of a
community.
 The relationship between psychology and
spirituality is justified by the fact that the
experience of existential issues occurs through
mental phenomena such as meditation, states of
consciousness, introspection, mystical experiences,
self-transcendence, self-realization, etc., which
are subject to study in psychology. However, the
essence of this relationship rests on two basic
questions:
 Why does the human being need to have answers to
existential questions to configure his spirituality?
 What can psychology contribute to the spirituality
of the person?
 Spiritual psychology (which we call “transpersonal psychology”) is a
discipline that focuses on the understanding of the human psyche and
its relationship with the spiritual dimension. Spiritual psychologists
believe in holistic approaches to healing, which includes the
integration of mind, body and spirit into one's daily life. From past
experiences, we understand that our thoughts, emotions and beliefs
can impact our physical health by influencing it on a cellular level.
 The term “spiritual” in this practice refers to that which transcends
ordinary consciousness, including our personal identity, our sense of
self-worth and dignity, our capacity for empathy or compassion, our
ability to love unconditionally, and finally our power as human beings
—wisdom derived from knowledge gained through the human
experience rather than facts drawn from school books or Google.
 According to the American Psychological Association,
transpersonal or spiritual psychology is defined as “An
area of humanistic psychology that focuses on the
exploration of the nature, varieties, causes, and effects of
‘higher’ states of consciousness and transcendental
experiences. Transpersonal refers to the concern with
ends that transcend personal identity and individual,
immediate desires.“ This form of counseling builds on the
traditional methods and theories of psychology while
addressing our eternal yearning for meaning, purpose and
connection through spirituality.
 From past experiences we understand that our thoughts,
emotions and beliefs can impact our physical health by
influencing it on a cellular level.
Psychological research

 Psychological research refers to research

that psychologists conduct for systematic study
and for analysis of the experiences and behaviors
of individuals or groups.
 Their research can
have educational, occupational and clinical applic
ations.
 Ethical considerations
 Psychological research risks harming the subjects of the
research. In order to prevent that harm, proposed studies are
usually approved by an Institutional review board to ensure
that the risks to the research subjects are justified by the
anticipated benefits. IRBs also verify that Informed Consent has
been obtained. This involves documenting that the subject (or
legally authorized representative) agrees to being a subject
after having been informed of what the research is about, risks
and benefits to the subject, that the subject may discontinue
participation at any time, and how personally identifiable
information will be handled.
 Methodology
 Psychologists use many research methods, and
categorical distinctions of these methods have
emerged. Methods can be categorized by the kind
of data they produce: qualitative or quantitative—
and both these are used for pure or applied
research.
 Psychology tends to be eclectic, applying
knowledge from other fields. Some of its methods
are used within other areas of research,
especially in the social and behavioural sciences.
 Experimental methods
 The field of psychology commonly uses experimental methods in
what is known as experimental psychology. Researchers design
experiments to test specific hypotheses (the deductive
approach), or to evaluate functional relationships (the inductive
approach).
 Observational methods
 Observational research, (a type of non-
experimental, correlational research), involves the researcher
observing the ongoing behavior of their subjects. There are
multiple methods of observational research such as participant
observations, non-participant observations and naturalistic
observations
 Descriptive methods
 All scientific processes begin with a description based on
observation. Theories may develop later to explain these
observations or classify associated phenomena.
In scientific methodology, the conceptualizing of
descriptive research precedes the hypotheses of
"explanatory research“
 Case studies
 A case study—or case report—is an intensive analysis of a
person, group, or event that stresses developmental
factors related to the context. Case studies may be
descriptive or explanatory. Explanatory case studies
explore causation to identify underlying principles
 Surveys
 Interviews and questionnaires intrude as a foreign element into the
social setting they would describe, they create as well as measure
attitudes, they elicit atypical role and response, they are limited to
those who are accessible and who will cooperate, and the responses
obtained are produced in part by dimensions of individual differences
irrelevant to the topic at hand
 Psychometric methods
 Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the theory and
technique of psychological measurement. One part of the field is
concerned with the objective measurement of skills and knowledge,
abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational achievement.
 Archival methods
 Archival research can be defined as the study of existing data. The
existing data is collected to answer research questions. Existing data
sources may include statistical records, survey archives, previous
history and written records.
 Cross-sectional methods
 Cross-sectional research is a research method often used in
developmental psychology, but also utilized in many other areas
including social science and education. This type of study utilizes
different groups of people who differ in the variable of interest, but
share other characteristics such as socioeconomic status,
educational background, and ethnicity.
 For example, researchers studying developmental psychology might
select groups of people who are remarkably similar in most areas,
but differ only in age.
 Longitudinal methods
 Longitudinal research is a type of research method used to discover
relationships between variables that are not related to various background
variables. This observational research technique involves studying the same
group of individuals over an extended period of time.
 Data is first collected at the outset of the study, and may then be gathered
repeatedly throughout the length of the study. In some cases, longitudinal
studies can last several decades.
 Cohort methods
 Essentially, cohort refers to people who are approximately the same age.
When researchers conduct different types of studies (for example,
developmental/cross sectional studies), they use cohorts to see how people of
different ages compare on some topic at one point in time. For example, a
researcher may compare the effects of a new study aid in three different
cohorts: 10th graders, 11th graders, and 12th graders. In this way, you can
examine the study aid across three different grade levels.
 Cross-cultural methods
 Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how
cultural factors influence human behavior.
 Computational methods
 A discipline lying on the border between artificial intelligence and
psychology. It is concerned with building computer models of human
cognitive processes and is based on an analogy between the human
mind and computer programs. The brain and computer are viewed
as general-purpose symbol-manipulation systems, capable of
supporting software processes, but no analogy is drawn at a
hardware level.