ABSTRACT
To the layperson, the term “psychology” might mean something like “the study of people” or “the study of the mind”, both of which are correct but a little vague. A more formal definition of psychology would be the scientific study of human mental processes, motivatiom, and behaviour. Animal research is also conducted so that comparisons can be made between animal and human behaviour-from which many models of behaviour have been developed (Pinel, 2003). The origins of psychology has been much debated over the years. One school of thought is that psychology really only began when the first experimental study in psychology was carried out (for example, Hermann Ebbinghaus’s experimental investigations into human memory in the late nineteenth century), whereas there are good arguments in support of the roots of psychological thought and inquiry dating back much further (see e.g., Eysenck, 1998, chap. 1).
