The Psychology Symbol
Origins, Meaning, and Legacy.
When you study psychology you quickly discover that the universal symbol for the discipline is the pitchfork shaped image like the one in the picture above. Now while this is great for short hand purposes i.e. drawing the symbol rather than having to spell out the word psychology in full, have you ever wondered about where the psychology symbol originates?
The Devil is Not in The Detail
One intriguing but incorrect suggestion is that the psychology symbol is somehow related to the trident carried by the devil. The theory goes that because mental illness was historically seen as the work of the devil, psychology by association was considered diabolical; and in an irreverent display of defiance, psychologists adopted the trident pitchfork shape as their official symbol.
It's All Greek To Me!
To discover the origin of the psychology symbol, you simply have to trace its etymology (word origin and sense development). The symbol for psychology represents the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet, psi, which is also the first letter of the Greek word psuche, meaning mind or soul, from which the term psyche arose.
This in turn evolved to give us the name of the discipline we know today as psychology, which typically refers to the study of the mind when defined.
Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behavior. It is both a thriving academic discipline and a vital professional practice. (The British Psychological Society)
Perhaps the devil is in the detail after all!
Psi as a Symbol of Psychology
The use of psi became widespread in the early 20th century as psychology emerged as a formal scientific discipline. The symbol’s simplicity and its deep roots in classical thought made it an ideal emblem for a field striving to balance the ancient exploration of the human condition with modern empirical inquiry.
An enduring early example of psychology embracing Psi came in the form of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, whose mission is 'to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship, and to advance the science of psychology'. Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology was formally established with the signing of The Psi Chi Charter at Yale University during the Ninth International Congress of Psychology on the 4th of September 1929. Still going strong today, there are now over 1,100 Psi Chi chapters and more than 600,000 lifetime Psi Chi members located worldwide.
It should be noted that Psi is not the exclusive preserve of psychology. In physics, for instance, it represents wave functions in quantum mechanics and in parapsychology, it refers to phenomena like telepathy or extrasensory perception (ESP). Psi is, however, instantly recognizable as a symbol for psychology and is often used in logos for academic departments, professional organizations, and psychology-related publications. Its widespread adoption has helped unify the identity of psychology as a global discipline.
I'll leave you with a picture of me and my two sons. It was taken back in 2006 and although I didn't realize it as the time, the shadows we created look very much like the psychology symbol.
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Interesting !