The Early Stages of Psychology

* Predict: Offering predictions (or hypotheses) about how a given condition or set of conditions will affect

There are three main theories of development that I shall discuss in this assignment, 'Cognitive', the main theorist being, 'Piaget', (1896 - 1980), The, 'Psychosocial Theory', 'Erikson', (1902 - 1994), and, The 'Psychosexual', of, 'Freud', (1856 - 1939).

Throughout the course of history, the phenomenon of psychology has drawn countless psychologists and scientists to further comprehend the depths and fascinations of the human mind and body. Using experimentation as a source of obtaining and recording desired information regarding the new realizations of the mind, cognitive scientists continue to fathom at the intricate revelations the mind has to offer. Although the complexities of the mind have brought scientists to puzzling conclusions, scientists have used a series of experimental steps to conclude how and why the processes of the brain can change the actions and personalities of an individual.

History and literature have developed in a parallel manner, as organisms often co-evolve with each other. With the publication of Darwin’s groundbreaking work, the Origin of Species, a new group of people, the Social Darwinists, applied the theory of natural selection to social hierarchy. A most notable Social Darwinist, Herbert Spencer, coined the term “survival of the fittest”, implying that people in higher social groups were more “fit” to survive than those who were in lower social groups (Bannister, “Social Darwinism”). This idea of social evolution contributed to the dehumanization of people. More social theorists, scientists, and

Plato and Socrates thought that the mind and body were separate and that mind keeps going after the body dies, later Rene Descartes agreed and did experiments to prove it

October 22nd, 2012 Chapter 1- What is psychology? [pp. 1-23] LO1: Psychology as a Science (p. 4) * Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Herbert Spencer was the most important Social Darwinist of the 19th Century. He was the first to begin thinking about evolutionist long before Darwin came out with his book on the "Origins of Species". He had many theories such as that everything evolves from one basic creature and then breaks off into more diverse species (Haberman (Hab.), 171). His theory was that social, political, and intellectual movements were caused by the development from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous. Spencer once stated, "If the advance of man towards greater heterogeneity is traceable to the production of many effects by one cause, still more clearly may the advance of society towards greater heterogeneity be

Spencer was a famous English philosopher, biologist, and sociologist known for his work with Charles Darwin’s ideology. For most, Herbert Spencer is synonymous with term social Darwinism, or a social theory that the best adapted humans were at the top of social, political, and economic class. Spencer based most of his work on Darwin’s idea of natural selection. He took Darwin’s idea of “struggle for survival” to the popular “survival of the fittest”, thus creating the ideology behind social Darwinism. Spencer argued that natural laws controlled the products of biological evolution, like human intellect and social activities.

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).

“It takes a village to raise a child.” I never quite understood that saying when I was growing up, but my experiences teaching and working in school settings have showed me how true it really is. Obtaining a degree in school psychology will allow me to give the support that students, families and educators need to ensure that every student will thrive.

Spencer applied the principles of Darwinism to human social, political and economic issues and proclaimed that the survival of the fittest applies to human societies which became Social Darwinism. In John Offer’s “Critical Assessments of Leading Sociologists” he traces Spencer’s influence and dissects various points made by Herbert Spencer himself. He quotes Herbert Spencer when analyzing Spencer’s perspective of Social Darwinism. “The prosperity of a species is best supervised when among adults each experiences the good and evil results of his own nature and consequent conduct.” Spencer also states “It is much better that the ruminant animal, when deprived by age of the vigor which made its existence a pleasure, should be killed by some beast of the prey, than that it should linger out a life made painful by infirmities, and eventually die of starvation.” It is at this point that Spencer begins to cross Darwinism’s take on natural selection to social conditions. While Spencer is still speaking in reference of animals, he describes the death of animals as a means of relieving their pain and suffering. This is where Spencer begins to speak in reference to humans. “A sad population of imbeciles would our schemers fill the world with, could their plans last. A sorry kind of human constitution would they make for us – a constitution continually going wrong, and needing to be set right again – a constitution ever

Social Darwinism is a belief, popular in the late Victorian era in England, America, and elsewhere, which states that the strongest or fittest should survive and flourish in society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die. The theory was chiefly expounded by Herbert Spencer, whose ethical philosophies always held an elitist view and received a boost from the application of Darwinian ideas such as adaptation and natural selection. Spencer and Social Darwinism Herbert Spencer, the father of Social Darwinism as an ethical theory, was thinking in terms of elitist, "might makes right" sorts of views long before Darwin published his theory. However, Spencer quickly adapted Darwinian ideas to his own ethical theories. The concept of adaptation

When psychology emerged as a discipline, there were four major schools that became popular. Phrenology, which is Greek for the study of the mind, was one of the earliest schools of psychology and became wildly popular in the 1800’s. German physician Franz Joseph Gall is the main theorist responsible for the ideas of phrenology. “Phrenologists argued that different brain areas accounted for specific character and personality traits, such as stinginess and religiosity, and that such traits could be read from bumps on the skull (Wade, Travis, & Gary, 2008/2012/2015, p. 5). It was through this idea that phrenologists believed that destructive people had larger bumps over their ears, an area representative of destruction. This, of course, lead to

Biological psychology is the study of how biology affects a number of psychological processes i.e. how the mind affects the body (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner & Hood 2015). The study of the mind has had many influential figures throughout history that often use each other’s ideas as a stepping stone to further advance psychology, some of the first being Plato and Aristotle. Plato believed in nativism and theorised some skills and characteristics are innate and a person is born with them (Schacter et al, 2015). Aristotle, however, was in favour of philosophical empiricism i.e. that all knowledge is acquired through experience, yet current scientists do not consider that nativism and empiricism are entirely accurate (Schacter et al, 2015). Aristotle also believed that the brain existed to cool the blood, as during that time people were sceptical that an organ could be responsible for behaviour (Kolb, Whishaw & Teskey 2016). The next major advancement in biological psychology was the introduction of phrenology by Francis Gall, Gall’s theory suggested that all psychological capabilities had a specific place in the brain (Schacter et al, 2015). This theory later turned out to be correct, although was overshadowed by Gall’s insistence that he could state a person’s character dependant on the size of lumps and indentations on a person’s skull, which he thought would represent the size of that brain region beneath (Schacter et al, 2015). Due to this, in spite of a large following, phrenology was quickly discredited. Biologist Pierre Flourens, unhappy with Gall’s research, began removing localized areas of the brain in various animals to observe their behaviour (Schacter et al, 2015). Flourens then found that animal’s movements differed to those with intact brains. This mirrored a situation for surgeon Paul Broca with whom one of his patients had damage to the left side of

Psychology is diverse, and there are many diverse specialty areas available to individuals seeking a career in the field of psychology. Most Psychologists choose to specialize in subfields that focus on specific subjects. Obtaining a profession in any of the specialty areas would require graduate study in that area of interest. Some professionals have a broad general knowledge, are skilled in several areas, and work with a range of clients. Some are specialist in treating a specific type of psychological disorder, or work with a specific age group. For those interested in specializing in a psychology career, developmental Psychology is one of the many fields available.