William James And Early American Psychology

Throughout the span of history, psychology has always existed. Humans have always pondered why we think, act, and see the world as we do. Most information we have on the very foundations of psychology come from philosophers and physicists such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Gustav Fechner. Today I’ll be comparing two very different psychologists: John B. Watson and Carl Rogers. Although these two display different feelings and approaches to their field, they share the same roots. Keeping this in mind, I believe it’s important to understand that evaluating the likeness of contrasting branches

In this essay I am looking at where Psychology as a discipline has come from and what affects these early ideas have had on psychology today, Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology,

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.

26) Which early American psychologist taught philosophy at Harvard, studied medicine, had strong interests in literature and religion, and wrote one of the most important psychology texts ever, The Principles of Psychology, in 1890?

William James (1842-1910), James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944), Lightner Witmer (1867-1956), and John B. Watson (1878-1958) were major contributors to the study psychology at this time. James was a pioneer to the development of functional psychology, following the work of Wilhem Wundt (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 131). Cattell was known for his mental tests that were used to measure mental capabilities and intelligence (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p. 166). These mental test developed into IQ tests determining the intelligence of a person going into the army or being qualified for a job. Witmer began clinical psychology. He developed diagnostic and treatment approaches as they were needed for treating children with hyperactivity, learning disabilities, and poor speech and motor development because he was the first one to do it (Schultz &Schultz, 2012, p. 175). There were no examples for him to follow to see what is wrong or right way to address the needs. Also, Watson became a powerhouse in field of psychology. He had major influences in behaviorism. He provided stern guidelines for child rearing stating that parents should never “hug and kiss them, never let them sit on your lap” (Schultz & Schultz, 2012, p.

James conceived a more practical, and dynamic view of how human beings act. He developed a distinguishable definition of psychology, which identified pragmatism. He defined psychology as the science of mental life, regarding both its phenomena, and conditions (James, 1998, p. 139). The phenomena accounts for what is found in the soul, while the conditions were the antecedents of this mental life. James evaluated the spiritualist, and associationist schools of thought as the two most influential processes which explain the phenomena, and conditions.

William James’ book was entitled: Principles of Psychology which was published in 1890 and also established him as one of the greatest thinkers of his time.

William James was an American psychiatrist and philosopher, born in 1842 and touted as the leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism and of the psychological movement of functionalism (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). James’ rebuttal to the Clifford’s Ethics of Believe, was the famed Will to Believe.

Finally, we can see how William James takes an objective point of view from a few quotes in his book “The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy”. One of these quotes was, “ That is why I call pessimism an essentially religious disease.”Now although this may seem to go against his view of allowing people to believe their own thoughts, it is actually the contrary. This is because pessimism is essentially the belief of seeing things negatively or viewing things in a negative light. But, I thin this leads to the point in which William James says that religion is personal. Along with this, he stated, “Be not afraid of life. Believe

For instance, Rogers (1965) devoted much of his work and writing to the uniqueness of ordinary people in the psychology of science. As such, he interrogated the place of the individual person in life through a series of thought-provoking psychological dissertations. For instance, he challenged the role of the American Association of Humanistic Psychologists in enhancing an educational atmosphere that would create a philosophy of life that transcends time and one that infuses the true value of living. Likewise, Wertheimer (1938) advanced the principle of the Gestalt Theory, which further interrogates the essence of life and living within the science of psychology. Indeed, both Rogers and Wertheimer seem to concur with the arguments of psychologists such as William James who placed more value and emphasis on the human value. For instance, he called on the need to look more deeply in the human mind and to report what lies in there. Indeed, this is statement concurs with Roger’s and Wertheimer’s convictions that the human mind is a fundamental tool in psychological sciences and which holds the magical key of introspection. Eventually, it emerges that the individual person holds much of the power to affect their life experiences with aspects such as joy, pain, and sorrow and the

John Watson pioneered a new approach to viewing psychology. By making known an underutilized approach to studying psychology, John Watson opened a whole new door to researching how and why people behave the way they do. John Broadus Watson left a huge impression on the world of psychology with his new and unconventional approach of behaviorism and his Little Watson experiment.

As far back as the time when man first discovered ways to communicate with one another he has attempted to understand and explain the course of historical events. In considering the historical development of scientific psychology two main views of the historical progress the field of science have emerged: personalistic theory and naturalistic theory.

Locke rationalizes, an older person may not remember their “self” as young child, but they have memories from when they were middle-aged. When they were middle-aged, they remember their “self” as a young child, therefore their consciousness can be linked.

Psychologists have been focused on observing and understanding human behavior for centuries, dating back to the Greek philosophers when psychology and philosophy were considered one.Today, Psychology is the study of human behavior, beginning before birth and lasting until death. It is clear that the observance human behavior is a vast and profound source of data for psychologists. Early philosophers relied on methods of observation and logic. A physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt in the 1800’s began using scientific research methods in his study of mental processes. However, the situation was totally different in the beginning of 20th century when psychology still struggled to be regarded as a separate discipline with practical value(Mastering,2011). Psychologists had only begun to be accepted as a science. It was John B. Watson who established the school of Behaviorism and inspired many other psychologists to study patterns of human behavior and their mechanisms. Watson 's contribution to psychology is important not to underestimate; he studied animal and human behavior to come up with a methodology that would give Psychology a respected status among other scientific disciplines. This essay will focus on the biography and works of John B. Watson with a purpose to show why his works are important for Psychology today(Hergenhahn & Henley, 2013).

William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist