People throughout history have been intrigued by the question, 鈥淲hat is human nature?鈥
Psychology鈥檚 approach to this topic is aimed at understanding basic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior. It uses a variety of scientific methods, including interviews, case studies, field observations, neurophysiological recordings, and controlled experimentation.
What is human nature?
Psychology鈥檚 fund of knowledge has grown very rapidly over the past century. We now have a much clearer understanding of how people learn, how childhood experiences affect adult personality, how people influence one another during normal social relations, how to treat emotional and behavioral problems, how the brain鈥檚 biochemistry influences behavior, and many other significant topics.