Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Relevance of Psychology in Modern World

 Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Although Psychology originated from philosophy, over decades it managed to establish its identity as an independent discipline. In recent times, the discipline has expanded its ambit to discuss national as well as global challenges that plague the world today.

The modern world is undergoing enormous transformation in almost all spheres of life. The year 2020 especially brought about a complete overhaul of our existing modes of living in the world. Our public institutions such as offices and schools whose existence we always took for granted also had to change overnight.  On one hand, we witnessed the tireless efforts of medical, paramedical, civil and administrative communities towards protection and welfare of fellow citizens, and on the other hand we encountered instances of hate, stigma and discord. Ours is a world of paradox, and our lives are testimony to the complexities of this world, and as we begin to adapt to post pandemic times and learn and relearn new ways of living in the world, psychology has much to offer for our personal and collective lives. Researchers and practitioners in the field are making new discoveries and applications for psychology are ever-expanding.

Psychology's importance can no longer be ignored. In near future, there will be a range of openings available for a budding psychologist. Perhaps one of the best ways to demonstrate the centrality of psychology to human well-being is to consider the main matters that feature in the daily news. A quick scan of today’s newspaper brings us the top trending topics around the world - from unemployment; to public protests, from great stories of human resilience to rising statistics of people suffering from depression and anxiety, the challenges are immense, but so are the opportunities. 

People are generally aware of the role of Psychologists in the area of mental health, therapy and counselling. Issues like workplace stress, human relationships, and financial difficulties can manifest in mental illnesses that require diagnosing and managing, which is where modern psychology can contribute and why it’s so important. However, today the field is slowly expanding its bandwidth to applied areas such as national development, behavioral economics, environmental psychology, consciousness studies, to name a few. We, at The NorthCap University, believe in holistic personality development of our students. We have designed our B.A (Honors) curriculum to integrate theoretical aspects of the subject along with its practical applications. As a student of NCU, you are exposed to a diverse range of sub fields in Psychology such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Environmental Psychology, Applied Social Psychology, Pathology and Well-being. In addition, we encourage and value skills such as creative thinking, individual expression and problem solving in our pedagogy.
The world is changing and as Duke Ellington says, “A problem is a chance to do your best”, there is an urgent need to build an educated, sensitive and empathetic young force that contributes to a better understanding of human nature and its relationship with physical, natural and social environment, thereby bringing about a positive change in the world. This is your chance to participate in this exciting journey. You can be part of the solution. The world awaits your call, the larger question is, are you ready? If your answer is in the affirmative, then please explore The NorthCap University website for further course details.

Author:
Harshita Jha
Assistant Professor
School of Management and Liberal Studies