Major Schools of Thought in Psychology
Major Schools of Thought in Psychology
Desirae Carrion
Kaplan University
Abstract
Several researchers contributed to the development of psychology as a separate field of study. "Their work, along with Wundt 's work, made Germany the undisputed center of the movement" (Schultz, & Schultz, 2011p. 77). The world 's first psychological laboratory was opened by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879 at the University of Leipzig (Schultz &Schultz, 2011).When researchers started to rely on controlled observations and experimentation to study the human mind psychology began to obtain its own identity separate from its philosophical roots (Schultz &Schultz, 2011). Scientific study was occurring in several psychological
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There were three stages of behaviorism Watsonian behaviorism, Neobehaviorism, and Sociobehaviorism. Neobehaviorism believed that the core of psychology is the study of learning, most behavior, no matter how complex, can be accounted for by the laws of conditioning, and psychology must adopt the principle of operationism (Schultz & Schultz, 2011).
The gestalt school of thought was considered an original, undistorted, natural approach to understanding a person 's thinking, acting, and feeling. The greatest value in the Gestalt approach, according to Perls, Hefferline and Goodman (1951, p.xi) "lies in the insight that the whole determines the parts, which contrasts with the previous assumption that the whole is merely the total sum of its elements". "Wertheimer asserted that we perceive objects in the same way we perceive apparent motion, as unified wholes rather than clusters of individual sensations. The Gestalt principles are the basic rules that we use to make sense of or organize our perceptual world (Schultz & Schultz, 2011 p. 272). There are six principles proximity, continuity, similarity, closure, simplicity, and figure/ground (Schultz & Schultz, 2011).
The psychoanalytic view believes that there are inner forces outside of our awareness that are causing our behavior. Psychoanalysis main goal was to help clients release repressed feelings that might be from early experiences. Clients who showed signs of hidden disturbances could be cured by
Psychoanalysis is a set of theories and techniques which were founded by Sigmund Freud. The basis of Psychoanalysis is that it enables the client to become more aware of their unconscious thoughts and motivations to gain a deeper
Psychoanalysis is a therapy of psychological theory that aims to treat mental illnesses based on the concepts of Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the importance of free association and dream analysis. The model of psychoanalysis aim is to release repressed emotion and experiences, by making unconscious thoughts, conscious. The fundamental principles of psychoanalysis are practiced by putting an emphasis on the patient to gain insight into the origins of their respective problems like a patient presenting symptoms of anxiety would be encouraged by a licensed professional to explore their past, in hopes of discovering problems that manifested the anxiety. The anxiety created may be a defense mechanism directed towards displacement in their world.
Psychoanalysis is a theory which is used to understand repressed or unconscious impulses, and conflicts the individual has internally or externally in their lives.
The first academic to look at is Wilhelm Wundt by applying the scientific principles to his work and his contribution to establish psychology as a science. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) was a German physician who became interested in applying the physiological methods to psychological phenomena and “wanted to model the study of the mind after the natural sciences.” (Passer et
What is psychoanalysis? Psychoanalysis is a form of treatment invented by Sigmund Freud that usually focuses on the early years of the patient’s life and his/her relationship with immediate family members. A wise man once said, “There are four questions that every good student of psychology will ask about a personality theory. The first question
Behaviorism is the scientific approach to psychology that is distinguished by logical-theoretical emphasis as is seeks to develop reasons for behavior (Moore, 2013). The theory of Behaviorism was developed by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. Uniquely, this theory states that personality is plastic and can be shaped by the environment or situational influences. Another difference from previous thoughts is
Wundt was the person who found the first laboratory of scientific psychology. Wundt used analytic introspection, a method that is used to determine the participants’ encounter, description and response to the stimuli presented to them.
Psychology is an applied as well as an academic field that studies both the human mind and behavior. The research in psychology attempts to explain and understand behavior, emotion and thought. The subject of psychology was created when Wilhelm Wundt opened up the very first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Wilhelm Wundt believed that individuals who are appropriately trained would most likely be able to recognize the mental processes that are accompanied with feelings, thoughts and sensations (Wagner , 2009).
Wilhelm Wundt played a key role in establishing psychology after his book Principles of Physiological Psychology argued that psychology should be studied as it 's own distinct scientific discipline rather than a sub-category of physiology. In 1879, Wundt founded the first laboratory of scientific psychological research at the University of Leipzig. He was very influential and over the years, thousands of students attended his lectures. People from across the globe went to Wundt to earn their doctorates. He even taught Edward B. Titchener, who founded his own school of psychology. These are all reasons why Wilhelm Wundt is considered "The Founder of Psychology".
Psychoanalysis is a therapy and also a theory which was produced by Sigmund Freud. This therapy stress that human behavior and emotion are unconsciously cause by their past experience and drive in the unconscious part and the client doesn’t know them. The therapist always uses this therapy to help the client understand more emotion and
Psychoanalysis was the name given by Sigmund Freud to a system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders. (McLeod, 2007) In particular, we present five key concepts on psychoanalytic therapy: structure of personality, psychosexual stages, defense mechanism, anxiety, and the unconscious mind.
In the field of Psychology, there are many theories and techniques that can be utilized. Some counselors might choose to use one or more of these theories and techniques, but some will choose to use only one. After learning about the different theories and techniques, I have chosen the Psychoanalytic Theory as my personal theoretical orientation. The reason I chose Psychoanalysis is because I feel that it best suits me. What seems to be most intriguing to me about Psychoanalysis is that its main focus is on your conscious and unconscious mind. I enjoy using techniques in order to find out what information lies within your conscious and unconscious and for this reason, I feel Psychoanalysis best fits my personality.
I chose Gestalt Psychology for my first perspective, it is how people experience objects and perceive things as a whole. Gestalt allows us to look at everyday objects and distinguish them from their surroundings. Without the Gestalt Theory people would see every atom that made up a whole object. As I look at my computer screen, I do not see every little atom, I see the screen as a whole. From this perspective, learning objects as a whole instead of each individual part is beneficial because it allows us to open our minds for new learning experiences. However, there may be things in life that do not provide enough visual clues to determine what it is supposed to be.
Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy founded by the Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud. He believed that a person’s actions are motivated by 2 impulses – sex and aggression and that it could be made consciously or unconsciously. His theory also focuses on the time of which a person is born, to the age of 6 as he believed that later personality issues are often stemmed from repressed events that happened in early childhood. (Corey, 2013)
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: