Psychology and Arts & Humanities
It is important to note that in order to understand the relationship and applicability of other sciences in regard to psychology, one should define the latter first. It is stated that psychology is “the study of the mind and behavior … observation, experimentation, testing, and analysis to explore the biological, cognitive, emotional, personal, and social processes or stimuli underlying human and animal behavior” (American Psychological Association, 2022, para. 1). Therefore, human cognition, feelings, personality, social interactions, and behavior are the fundamental underlying topics in the given scientific field. When it comes to art and humanities, the fields encompass a wide range of academic disciplines, that focus on human achievement, context, and culture through history, language, arts, as well as social sciences (Shim et al., 2019). It is reported that “both the arts and the humanities have substantive psychological significance in our lives” (Shim et al., 2019, p. 159). In other words, these fields are tightly interconnected due to their common interest in human experience and overlapping objectives in improving the understanding of human society from its individual facets to the global social dynamics.
In the case of applicability of arts and humanities to psychology, it should be noted that the former provides a number of strong conceptual frameworks to understand the external forces that impact one’s psychological elements. Arts and humanities provide insight and evidence on the basis of the fact that it has “played important roles in education, leisure, and work for people across diverse backgrounds and cultures, present in their lives from the cradle to the grave” (Shim et al., 2019, p. 159). Thus, it is clear that the influence of arts and humanities in shaping human psychology is a source of prime and direct interest in psychological sciences, where understanding education, entertainment, and productive work can lead to a better conceptual analysis of human behavior, emotions, and cognition. Although there is a massive number of application points, the main ones include visual art and history (Shim et al., 2019). These include meaning-making, pedagogy, aesthetic pleasure, creativity, learning history, individual growth, societal development, occupational shifts, and other forms of phenomenological experience.
Psychology and Natural Sciences
The tight relationship between natural sciences and psychology cannot be overlooked because biology, physics, and chemistry play an unparalleled role in deepening the understanding of the human mind and behavior. Natural sciences deal with the physical world, which not only directly impacts the human psyche but also serves as a basis for the existence of core functional enablers of human psychology, such as the human brain and its constituents. The field of psychology cannot exist without natural sciences as well as social sciences because, fundamentally, the human mind and behavior are the result of physical and social influences (Morf, 2018). It is stated that “the term psychology also refers to two distinct things. The first is more ‘human science’ and ‘descriptive’; the second is more ‘hard science’ and ‘explanative'” (Morf, 2018, p. 495). Therefore, natural sciences are related to psychologies as a major source of explanative elements designed to reveal the intricate foundations of the human mind and behavior.
In the case of the application of natural sciences in the field of psychology, the prime areas include chemistry and biology. The design of various drugs and their influence on the human brain is a cornerstone of many forms of treatment of a wide range of psychological disorders. For example, the phenomenon or phase of mania in bipolar disorder is treated through lithium, which directly shows the use of chemistry in psychology (Morf, 2018). In other words, some form of conceptual understanding of physical aspects of the human mind was made to determine that the chemical is potent in treating the problem. In addition, the study of neural biochemistry in neurons and other brain tissue cells is important in furthering the comprehension of human psychology. The human brain and its various regions form a foundation on which the human mind is built. For instance, a person might develop depression, which should not only be understood as a social or psychological phenomenon but also as a biochemical one. Therefore, multifaceted treatment modalities need to be developed which target both the underlying brain chemistry alterations as well as the general mental well-being.
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences
The human mind and behavior are interconnected concepts, and the latter part is a prime interest of behavioral sciences, which is why both fields relate to each other in a significant manner. Behavioral sciences focus on how individuals act in the world, where observations and experiments are made to understand the common patterns of behavioral frameworks. It also heavily relies on both information or neural sciences and social or relational sciences. It is important to note that behavioral sciences do not solely focus on human behavior but also on other organisms, such as animals. The human mind, including thoughts and emotions, manifests itself in actions, which constitute human behavior in the form of habits and intentional choices. Behavioral dynamics provides a greater degree of insight into how these patterns emerge and what serves as a stimulus.
Considering the fact that the field has a wide range of applications, it is not surprising that it is dependent on psychology because behavioral sciences are relevant not only to mental health issues but also to policymaking and business research. One example of such an application is using Big Data to understand consumer psychology to make better marketing frameworks in order to increase the profitability of companies (Matz & Netzer, 2017). Another instance of using behavioral sciences can be related to drug addiction, which has a strong psychological footprint on human psychology. A wide range of interventions requires knowledge and theoretical concepts from behavioral sciences in order to treat a number of issues in psychology. Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT is a highly effective treatment modality that can be prescribed for many problems, where the core basis is comprised of the interconnectedness of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Therefore, CBT is a part of the manifestation of behavioral sciences in psychology as an applied measure to help and heal individuals.
In criminology, behavioral sciences have made a substantial contribution to the development of the problem of the genesis of criminal psychology and behavior. Modern psychology provides more evidence for the fact of the decisive influence of early childhood impressions on a person’s subsequent life with specificities in each stage of development. The process of formation of delinquent behavior is characterized by certain flexibility. It may be accompanied by various deviations, hesitations, reflections, a return to the previously ‘normal’ behavioral pattern, or it may return to the previous, positive form of behavior. These applications create conditions for preventing the formation of sustainable behavior.
References
American Psychological Association. (2022). Psychology. Web.
Matz, S. C., & Netzer, O. (2017). Using Big Data as a window into consumers’ psychology. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 18, 7–12. Web.
Morf, M. E. (2018). Agency, chance, and the scientific status of psychology. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 52, 491-507. Web.
Shim, Y., Tay, L., Ward, M., & Pawelski, J. O. (2019). Arts and humanities engagement: An integrative conceptual framework for psychological research. Review of General Psychology, 23(2), 159–176. Web.