History of Psychology
History of Psychology Paper
Shirley L Nieves
October 21, 2013
PSY/310
Prof. Kelle Daniels
The roots of psychology date back to Egypt and the Egyptian mystery system. Psychology has evolved from philosophy, medicine, theology, and science. Psychology evolved out of coalescence of natural science, and also the branch of philosophy which is known as epistemology, which is also known in the theory of knowledge. Psychology in its early times was devote and mainly focused to understanding the mind, as well as measuring it. After this later on in time, psychology focused on understanding behavior.
In the beginning the ancient Greek philosophers had
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Democritus said “similarity creates friendship”
Alcmaeon was another; he investigated the basis for knowledge. Alcmaeon developed the two aspect theory of the soul. Plato, to me is one of the philosophers who contributed the most to psychology. Defining his aspects of the psych - reason, feeling and appetite. Plato believed that the action of human affect the mental state of individuals. Another philosopher I wanted to mention was Aristotle, who was known as the greatest systematic philosopher of antiquity. Aristotle hypothesized that the mind and the body prevail facts of the same being. The mind being simply a function of the body. Aristotle believed that intellect consisted of a) passive intellect and b) active intellect. Aristotle said that “intellect is separable, impassable, unmixed, since it is in its essential nature activity….when intellect is set free from its present conditions, it appears as just what it is and nothing more: it alone is immortal and eternal…and without it nothing thinks(Britannica online, “physiological psychology”).”
Two primary contributors to psychology were john Locke, who was known to reject the possibility of innate ideas. Locke’s entire system was dependent on association of sensations and ideas of reflection. Locke also suggested that complex emotions which were derived from pain and pleasure were indeed associated with other ideas. Alexander Bain is also another
Explain the reasons for the development of psychology as an academic discipline in the 19th and 20th centuries, making explicit the important turning points and breakthroughs.
The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David Hume and David Hartley.
Within psychology, there are several perspectives used to describe, predict, and explain human behavior. The seven major perspectives in modern psychology are psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanist, cognitive, neuroscientific/biopsychological, evolutionary, and sociocultural. Describe the perspectives, using two to three sentences each. Select one major figure associated with one of the perspectives and describe his or her work in two to three sentences. Type your response in the space below.
By Richard Thripp for Prof. John Beltran, PSY 4604 sec. 0W58, Univ. of Central Fla., Sp. 2013
The concept of Psychology originated from philosophy and biology which are two factors used in psychology today (Eysenck 2009). Psychology represents ‘study of the mind’ (Gross 2005). Psychology is a type of science which studies the behaviour of humans and animals, psychology tries to understand why people behave in certain ways taking into consideration their thoughts and feelings (Eysenck 2009). The term psychology was founded from the Greek word, psyche which means mind, soul or spirit combined with the Latin word logos which means’ the study of’ (Gross 2005). Psychology dates back to ancient civilizations who were interested in workings of the the mind and behaviours (Payne and Walker 2003). Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychological laboratory in 1879 (Glassman 2008). Wundt and his co workers studied the structures that make up the mind, he was the first theorist to use psychology as a self conscious experiment studying perceptions and conscious awareness (Gross 2005).
William James and John Dewey are well-known for their contributions to early psychology. Both were highly influential in the transition from mental philosophy to scientific psychology. This transition involved moving from a narrow focus of consciousness structure to the psychological study of the purpose, and processes of human functioning. These psychologists used their own reflections to attempt the separation of conscious experience into elements.
René Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher throughout the mid 1600’s. He is often regarded as the father of modern philosophy; however, his highly influential ideas have also impacted many other scientific fields, including the world of psychology. Descartes contributions in philosophy and biology have had a significant influence on modern psychology. He introduced new theories about the mind and the body that, while not always correct, undoubtedly changed peoples’ views and sparked a whole new approach to looking at the mind.
Psychology viewed as an old discipline. Psychology can trace its roots to the 5 century BC to the Greek philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, because we grapple with the same questions they attempted to answer. On the other hand, we could view psychology as emerging when philosophy and physiology merged to include experimentation and empirical methods to answer those questions about 200 years ago. Thus, it also viewed as a new discipline in 1879, which the approach taken to study make psychology became a science and distinguish from the older discipline philosophy and form modem
History and Systems of Psychology is a course requirement offered to Psychology majors and minors. This course is used to provide majors and minors with the foundation and the evolution of the field of psychology. Within this class, many scholars of discussed. Two scholars that stood out to me in this course would be John Watson and Max Wertheimer. These two particular scholars are responsible for two of the most influential and famous schools of thought, behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. These two schools of thought are responsible for changing the field of psychology and introducing the field to new theories and ways of thinking. Although the two schools of thought are similar in being influential but they are different in many ways. The two schools of thought are even said to be contradictory of one another and one is even said to be the cause of the fading out of the other.
Wade E. Pickren’s article, Internationalizing the History of Psychology Course in the USA is an advocacy piece for diversity in the field of psychology; specifically in the teaching of the history and systems of psychology course in US colleges and universities. Pickren first outlines the development of historical psychological texts (dubbed textbook histories REFERENCE), the subsequent influence of said texts on the development of the course of history and systems, criticisms of then current textbook histories and the events that led to “The New History of Psychology” (REFERENCE). The present standing of the history of psychology course in the USA is examined followed by a review of how the USA dominated the field of psychology after World
Authored by Keith E. Stanovich, How to Think Straight About Psychology is a known work of the psychology world which was published in 1986. Beginning courses in psychology use his text frequently. Stanovich primary purpose for writing the text is to bring attention to his observation that the public’s understanding of psychology is different from psychology as a modern science. Psychology as a modern science explains the underlying functions that shape human attitudes and behavior. To the people who misunderstand this, the field of psychology is not a real science, but a pseudo-science instead. How to Think Straight About Psychology describes people’s several false impressions of psychology and it gives its readers a factual understanding of the field as a modern and scientific psychology while explaining how this science works.
Aristotle, a Greek Philosopher, was born in 384 B.C.E. and was known to show an interest in living things. To find out how plants and animals organs sustained life, he collected and dissected them. He deliberately engaged on studying the reproduction of life to see how each generation and actions of living people spoke, remembered, and learned.
Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior if the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analyzing to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of Sigmund Freud, launched what is now modern psychology. Psychology and its research helped the world understand the inner workings of the mind and how it affects everyone around us.
Before psychology became a formal scientific discipline, philosophers and physiologists began to question the mind and how it works. Some focused on the innermost workings of the mind, such as consciousness and introspection, while others were more interested in its mechanics. Knowing how the field was founded is instrumental in its current applications and how it will continue to be altered and constructed in the future.
When psychology was first established as a science it separated from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began. The first school of thought, structuralism, was advocated by the founder of the first psychology lab, Wilhelm Wundt. Almost immediately, other theories began to emerge and vie for dominance in psychology. The following are some of the major thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology: Structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism: