Currently, psychology is one of the most dynamically developing and popular science in various areas of society. The tasks of psychology as a science require it to be increasingly involved in the sphere of practical application of its achievements.
The main stages in the development of psychological science are as follows.
1. Pre-scientific (until the VI century BC). All ideas about the soul were based only on myths and religion.
2. Scientific (VI century BC - XVIII century BC). A strong influence on psychology had a philosophy. Outlined the main problems of psychological science associated with the study of the activity of the soul and cognition.
3. Associate (K. XVIII - n. XIX centuries.). Psychology studies consciousness, which is based on feelings and perceptions.
4. Experimental (ser. XIX - n. XX centuries.). A methodological crisis of science has been outlined.
5. Methodological (10-30s of the XX century). Science is divided into schools and subjects: structuralism, functionalism, gestalt psychology, etc. appear. Psychoanalysis and other projective scientific methods are highlighted.
6. Humanistic (1940-1960s). The emphasis is not on the inner world and the essence of man.
7. Modern (from the second half of the XX century.). Improved methods of experimental research of the psyche.
The tasks of psychology as a science can be defined as follows. Modern psychology faces many theoretical and practical problems. The main one is the study of the laws of the psyche and mental activity in development.
Psychology studies a huge number of areas and phenomena. These are the processes, condition and individual properties of people who have varying degrees of complexity. Many of them have already been studied, and many continue to engage in psychological science today. It is designed to compare and integrate accumulated knowledge, systematize and analyze it. The purpose of science is to reveal the essence of the phenomena it studies . The tasks of psychology as a science require it to identify objective relationships between the natural and social properties of people, study the correlation of biological and social characteristics and determinants in its development. This task is one of the most difficult.
At the beginning of its development, psychology has long been an exclusively theoretical discipline. Today, her task is to approach life and solve specific problems and problems that arise before a person and society as a whole. It should become a practical science, applicable in the fields of industry, education, public administration, culture, sports, medicine, etc. Psychology should strive to solve specific problems in many areas defined by the "human factor".
Thus, the main tasks of psychology as a science can be reduced to the following: learn to understand the essence of psychological phenomena, understand their laws and learn how to manage them, introduce knowledge into the field of practical application, create a theoretical basis for the practice of psychological service.
Psychology is developing very rapidly today, closely touching and interacting with other sciences. It is possible to determine the place of psychology among other sciences by considering it in relation to a whole complex of disciplines intersecting in subject, tasks and goals.
Science itself occupies an intermediate position between other philosophical sciences (natural and social), affecting their separate areas. It integrates the data of various sciences, representing a kind of model of human knowledge.
Psychology is closely related to the natural sciences. She actively uses experimental techniques in her research. It is this science that has developed many methods of statistical calculations. On the other hand, psychology is a humanitarian science, intertwined with all knowledge about a person. B.G. Ananiev defined the place of psychology among other sciences as the core of the system of all human sciences.
Interaction with other sciences is reflected in the variety of branches of psychology: personality psychology (connection with anthropology), psychology of abnormal development, psychosomatics, pathopsychology (connection with psychiatry), neuropsychology (connection with anatomy and neurobiology), psychogenetics (connection with genetics), psycholinguistics (connection with speech therapy), forensic and criminal psychology (connection with jurisprudence), etc.