Introduction
Psychology studies the structure and function of the mind, behavior, and thought, including perception, memory, motivation, and emotion. Studying these mental processes has led to the development of numerous scientific principles for explaining behavior (Vansteenkiste et al., 2020). Psychologists have extended these principles to other human experiences, such as social relationships and personal identity (Vansteenkiste et al., 2020). Psychologists recognize that knowledge is always limited; this is an important component in the development of their science. William James states that ‘our science is a drop, our ignorance a sea,’ this statement may seem obvious to some individuals, but to many psychologists, it accurately reflects the state of knowledge within their discipline. The accumulation of knowledge through research, experiments, and analysis is a positive sign that the scientific principles developed by psychologists are coming closer to an accurate representation of how the human mind functions. At the same time, though, a problem arises when this accumulation of knowledge is ignored or misinterpreted by other aspiring psychologists who do not acknowledge these limits, leading to further misconceptions about the true state of psychology.
Discussion
The quote ‘our science is a drop, our ignorance a sea’ by William James’ contention on the state of knowledge within psychology means that psychologists are trying to find out about the human mind. According to James et al. (1890), every psychology problem is related to other problems in other sciences, like biology, and chemistry, among others. Buss (2019) asserted that psychology is a part of the study of the mind, and it has been found that the human mind is not an isolated thing. People’s experiences contribute to understanding and explaining the behavior of the mind. Barrett (2020) explained that there is a special study of this complex phenomenon called the human being, both as an individual and a social animal. As a result, psychologists must expand what they know concerning their understanding of this whole phenomenon called the human mind. For instance, in the digital era, mobile technology may influence adolescents through science, such as communication, emotion, relationships, and intimacy. Georg and Odgers (2015) insisted that generations of adults are complaining that adolescents being exposed to the new form of media is ” harmful to them” because they are surrounded by this intense, intimate technology that is making them enact adult roles in their lives.
Jame’s quote means that there are several different psychological theories exist as well as perspectives on what constitutes psychology. Each perspective on psychology comes with assumptions, methods, and philosophies (Moon et al., 2019). Second, psychology is ongoing and constantly refined as new knowledge is gained (Moon et al., 2019). In this case, the impact of social media on adolescents is a complex subject. Granic et al. (2020) argued that social media creates a sense of identity for teenagers because they can adopt a personality that they think would fit them in society. However, many problems are associated with this form of identity creation as teenagers may be pressured or influenced into believing certain things about themselves or have their ideas modified by others. As a result, according to van Rooij and Baggio (2021), though people are ignorant about the effects of social media on adolescents, they have to understand that this technology is bringing about significant changes in family dynamics, relationships, and the ways teenagers interact with one another and the society. Thus, there are plenty of theories but our knowledge is taking time to catch up.
In addition, mobile technologies such as smartphones and tablets may facilitate intimate broadcasting experiences between adolescents. It has been observed that more teenagers communicate via text and chat applications and are vulnerable to cyberbullying (George & Odgers, 2015). According to Giovanelli et al. (2020), scientists should consider how ordinary people interact with technology and how they design social media. Giovanelli et al. (2020) asserted that although many adolescents believe they are developing online identities through their interactions with social media, these manifestations may be more superficial than enduring. However, it has been shown that the evidence provided by social media is not enough to conclude adolescents’ health and well-being. It can be seen through research by Vizcaíno-Laorga et al. (2019), which suggests that the public personas of adolescents may not be as stable as they believe them to be. This is because adolescents’ self-images on social media may not represent how they truly feel. Therefore, it is necessary to look at how people interact with technology and its effects on their lives.
The quote, ‘our science is a drop, our ignorance a sea,’ also means that Psychology is very useful in many different fields. Carson et al. (2012) insisted that for the reader to understand what was being said, the writers should know about the topic and how writing is connected to it. According to van Rooij and Baggio (2021), while several different psychological theories exist as well as perspectives on what constitutes psychology, they all generally agree on two things. First, there is no one ‘true’ psychological theory due to various academics coming up with various psychological theories. Carson et al. (2012) said that psychology affects everyone and everything in society each day; therefore, everyone needs to take the time to do their research properly, today’s society is so dependent on psychology, and people should have a better understanding of it.
Psychology has been used in many ways; it serves as an aid to urology in finding the cure for stroke and cancer. It also serves as an aid to the development of the cross-cultural theory (Doorley et al., 2020). It helps modern-day people understand why they feel happy, sad, afraid, and angry. Psychology is used to help us understand personality types, how people react to life situations, and what causes human behavior (Doorley et al., 2020). Doorley et al. (2020) explained that when people are aware of these factors that influence their behavior, they can become more conscious of them and work on how to deal with certain feelings, such as anger. Psychology is an active part of everyday life and people tend to use psychological knowledge to solve daily challenges. For example, some people might say, “I am using a psychology book to help me with my business” This is because psychology is one of the most important fields, especially in business and management.
William James’ contention on the state of knowledge within psychology, is that ‘our science is a drop, our ignorance a sea’
means that psychology is not completely understood yet; it has still not fully explored what it is about. According to Di Fabio and Rosen (2018), psychology studies mental processes and behavior. Psychology has many fields related to emotions and feelings, such as neuropsychology and psychopathology. Di Fabio and Rosen (2018) insist that many psychologists use cognitive-behavior therapy to treat psychological disorders like depression and anxiety by using relaxation techniques and specially designed exercises that are suggested if someone has anxiety or panic attacks.
In addition to the point above, the topic of aging and memory is important to psychology because many people are busy with their older age and want to learn more about older adults. As a result, people recommend reading autobiographical event memory and aging in particular because it will help understand how memory changes throughout older adulthood, and that you can also see what older adults are doing or thinking about (Grilli & Sheldon, 2022). Psychology is used to understand different areas, such as aging and personality (Ryan et al., 2019). For example, the most common form of psychopathology involves a maladaptive life pattern that manifests in significant distress or dysfunction for the individual. Therefore, this makes psychology a very important field because it’s not just about how to help people who have problems with their moods but also helps people who are having problems with their behaviors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, James’ contention on the state of knowledge within psychology indicates that psychology still needs to be fully understood; it still needs to be fully explored what it is about. The current understanding of psychology is that it is not only about helping people with mood disorders; it is also about helping people with behavioral issues. Through this quote, psychologists can understand that current psychology is small, but psychology-related people and things in society are very large. A prime example can be seen in hermeneutical psychology, where it has been found that hermeneutics involves subjective interpretation, intuition, and speculation. As a result, to better understand psychology, people should do their research properly.
References
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