Exploring the diverse landscape of Psychology: A guide to the major schools of thought

Dr Reshmi K Pillai

Psychology is the science that studies mental processes, experience and behaviour.

MENTAL PROCESSES

Mental Processes are the processes that are taking place within the individual’s mind. Processes such as:

• Thinking
• Feelings
• Perceiving
• Memory
• Attention etc

Example : When a teacher is explaining about a topic, and a student is listening to that topic with lots of attention and focus. Trying to listen carefully and perceiving all that information told by the teacher and understanding them. Meanwhile, the student is also recalling the previous lectures too and corelating it. All these are happening within the individual’s mind. These are mental processes.

Attention:It is the ability to selectively concentrate on certain stimuli, tasks, or mental processes while ignoring others. It’s essential for processing information, learning, and performing tasks efficiently.

Perception: It is the process of interpreting and organizing sensory information from the environment. It enables us to make sense of the world around us.

Memory: It is the mental process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information. It’s essential for learning, problem-solving, and personal identity.

Thinking, or cognition, encompasses various mental processes, including:

Types of Thinking

• Problem-solving: Identifying and resolving problems.
• Decision-making: Selecting a course of action from available options.
• Reasoning: Drawing logical conclusions from available information.
• Concept formation: Creating mental categories and concepts.

Emotions: Emotions are complex psychological and physiological states that influence our thoughts, behaviors, and interactions.

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