Our naive attempts to understand the mind in terms of conscious experiences are limited. We cannot know directly what goes on in someone else s mind. Psychology is deterministic . Properties of mind, or psychological processes, are inferred from relationships among different behaviors and from relationships among behaviors and conditions in the environment. Physiological psychology attempts to discover how the biological mechanism of the brain and body produces the psychological characteristics of the organism.
Physiological psychology assumes monism and reductionism .
Mind is viewed as an emergent property of brain activity. The physiological and psychological viewpoints do not contradict one another. Rather, each complements the other. Our appreciation of each is enhanced by understanding the other. Our sense of awe and wonder about humanity may be increased, rather than decreased, by studying the biological bases of our minds and our behavior.