The Classic Wanderer

What Was The Most Influential Doctrine To Modern Psychology?

• Sabrina Sarro
• 05.05.2023
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QuestionAnswer Modern psychology shares which of the following characteristics with ancient Greek philosophy? An interest in the same kinds of questions about human nature Which theory suggests that “the times make the person”? naturalistic “The man makes the times,” reflects which view of history? personalistic The stage in the development of a science when it is still divided into schools of thought is called _. preparadigmatic When _ enrolled as a graduate student at Clark University, the administration arranged a separate dining table for her/him Francis Sumner The _ theory would support the claim: “Freud was instrumental in discovering psychoanalysis. If not for Freud, no other psychologist would have been able to undercover the human psyche.” personalistic The hallmark of psychology’s separation from philosophy was its reliance on _. experimentation In contrast to the events that are studied in science, historical events cannot be _. repeated Simultaneous discovery favors which view of history? naturalistic In the 1970s, the publication of the research of John Garcia was significantly delayed because _. his findings challenged the prevailing view in stimulus-response (S-R) learning theory The term “Zeitgeist” refers to _. the intellectual and cultural climate of the times In the first years of psychology’s emergence as a new discipline, which man determined its direction? Wilhelm Wundt According to the textbook, psychology as a discipline has _. engaged in the discriminatory practices that mark American culture as a whole Freud’s idea “Einfall” was translated to English into the term _ which means something other than what Freud implied in the original German. free association The various schools of thought in psychology have served well as systems to be opposed. In each case, _ was the consequence. a new school of thought An “autobiography” of Jung was evidently written not by Jung but by an assistant who _. altered and/or deleted some of Jung’s writings to present him in a manner suiting his family and followers In Kuhn’s philosophy of science, when Einstein’s theory of relativity replaced Galilean-Newtonian physics, a(n) _ occurred. scientific revolution The contextual forces in psychology deal with the _. social, economical, and political factors that influenced the field. The term historiography refers to _. the techniques, principles, and issues involved in historical research The three contextual forces in the history of psychology were _. economic opportunities, wars, and discrimination Materialism is the belief that _. all things can be described in physical terms Which of the following ideas has psychology borrowed from natural physics? effects are predictable and measurable Who can be said to have inaugurated the era of modern psychology? Descartes Descartes makes a case that because the body is matter the laws of _ apply. mechanics The doctrine that explains phenomena on one level (such as complex ideas) in terms of phenomena on another level (such as simple ideas) is _. reductionism Which of the following statements best describes Descartes’ dualistic theory of human nature? The mind and body mutually influence each other’s actions John Locke disagreed with the doctrine of innate ideas. According to Locke, _. the mind is a blank slate at birth; therefore, there are no innate ideas Which philosopher believed that the only things that humans know with certainty are those objects that are perceived? George Berkeley For Locke, ideas are the result of _. sensations and reflection The idea that science should be based totally on objectively observable facts is called _. positivism According to the textbook, the dominant idea of the 17th century was _. mechanism _ are mechanized figures that could almost perfectly duplicate the movements of living things. Automata According to Locke, simple ideas become complex ideas through the process of _. reflection The question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities refers to _. the mind-body problem Hartley was the first to apply the theory of association to explain _. all mental activity The doctrine that acts are determined by past events is _. determinism For Locke, the difference between a simple and a complex idea is that a simple idea _. cannot be reduced Complex ideas formed from simple ideas take on new qualities. This is a definition of _. John Stuart Mill’s creative synthesis Derived ideas _. arise from the direct application of an external stimulus The doctrine that natural processes are mechanically determined and capable of explanation by the laws of physics and chemistry is _. mechanism Who can be said to have inaugurated the era of modern psychology? Descartes James Mill demonstrated a radical perspective because he believed that the mind is a(n) _. machine Descartes makes a case that because the body is matter the laws of _ apply. mechanics Both the term and concept of positivism represent the thought of _. Comte Which British empiricist championed women’s rights and condemned the unequal status of women? John Stuart Mill the most radically mechanistic of the Brit empiricists,claimed the mind is machine & there’s no freedom of will; believed the mind is a passive entity & all thought can be analyzed in terms of sensations. James Mill While Hartley’s fundamental law of association was _, he also proposed that _ was necessary for associations to be formed. contiguity; repetition The doctrine that explains phenomena on one level (such as complex ideas) in terms of phenomena on another level (such as simple ideas) is _. reductionism Empiricism attributes all knowledge to _. experience John Locke disagreed with the doctrine of innate ideas. According to Locke, _. the mind is a blank slate at birth; therefore, there are no innate ideas According to Descartes, the pineal gland was the part of the brain _. where the mind and body interact The theories of mechanism that invoke the movement of atoms to explain the universe were developed by _. Newton and Galileo Why was the mechanical clock a revolutionary invention? Clocks brought precision, regularity, and predictability to everyday life, which was later developed into a model for science. For Locke, the difference between a simple and a complex idea is that a simple idea _. cannot be reduced The doctrine of _ is important because it stimulated opposition among early empiricists and associationists. innate ideas _ was the first successful demonstration of artificial intelligence. Babbage’s calculating machine The doctrine that natural processes are mechanically determined and capable of explanation by the laws of physics and chemistry is _. mechanism Materialism is the belief that _. all things can be described in physical terms What was the significance of the defecating duck? 1. It demonstrated the Zeitgeist of the time.2. It was one example of the spirit of mechanism.3. It was widely popular and well-known.4. All of the above.100% 5. It was described as the “glory of France.” Before Descartes, the accepted point of view was that the interaction between mind and body was essentially unidirectional, that _. the mind influenced the body Ebbinghaus’ curve of forgetting shows that _. material is forgotten rapidly in the first hours after learning and then the forgetting slows down For Wundt, the subject matter of psychology was _. consciousness Act psychology, in contrast to Wundt’s approach, claimed that psychology should _. study mental processes or functions and not mental structure The subject matter of psychology is the act of experiencing, according to _. Brentano Wundt’s system is most accurately identified as _. experimental psychology In Wundt’s laboratory, introspection was used to assess _. immediate experience Wundt classified sensations according to which characteristics? intensity, duration, and sense modality Which of the following is NOT one of Wundt’s experimental conditions? Observers must be able to describe the qualitative aspects of their experiences. Given that many of his research findings remain valid today, _ can be seen as more influential than _. Ebbinghaus; Wundt Külpe opposed Wundt by claiming that conscious thought processes can be carried out without the presence of sensations or feelings. Külpe’s view is known as _. imageless thought Ebbinghaus is important for the history of psychology because he _. successfully challenged Wundt’s claim that higher mental processes, such as learning and memory, could not be studied in the laboratory Brentano’s system of psychology was called _ psychology. Act Stumpf’s method of observation was _. phenomenology Which of the following methods is defined as “the examination of experience as it occurred without any attempt to reduce experience to elementary components.” Phenomenology Wundt argued that cognitive processes such as learning and memory could not be studied by experimental methods because _. they were influenced by language and aspects thereof Other than Stumpf’s research, his greatest influence on psychology may have been _. educating the founders of Gestalt psychology Which of the following are the three dimensions of Wundt’s tridimensional theory of feelings? pleasure/displeasure; tension/relaxation; excitement/depression. This person was influenced by Fechner’s rigid and systematic use of measurement in developing his own methods for researching higher level cognitive processes. Hermann Ebbinghaus In his early work when he was his own experimental subject, the 29-year-old Wilhelm Wundt found that he could _. not pay attention to two things at once While Wundt had argued that learning and memory could not be studied experimentally, who soon proved him wrong? Ebbinghaus One of Helmholtz’s particular contributions to psychology was his work on _. vision The practice of psychosurgery such as prefrontal lobotomies, has its roots in the _. extirpation method The most effective criticisms of phrenology came from whom? Flourens _ created phrenology, which proposed that the topography of a person’s skull revealed his or her intellectual and emotional characteristics. Gall The representation of the nervous system as a complex switching system reveals the 19th-century reliance on _. mechanism How did the British empiricists (BritE) and the German physiologists (GerP) differ in their approach to the study of the senses? The BritE studied the senses from the viewpoint of philosophy. The GerP used scientific methods to study the senses. _ discovered the law, S = K log R. Fechner What is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli? just noticeable difference _ was a pioneer in research on reflex behavior showing that reflexes could occur in the absence of brain involvement. Hall Who developed both the two-point threshold and the concept of the just noticeable difference? Weber Weber’s Law, the formulation of how much change in a stimulus is required for a subject to detect it, rests on the measurement of the _. just noticeable difference Until the work of _, experimentation was not the preferred method in physiology.J. Müller The researcher credited with the finding or conclusion that nerve impulses are electrical within the neuron is _. Galvani In the 19th century, the British and French defined science as including _. physics and chemistry only Who discovered the direction of travel of nerve impulses in the brain and spinal cord? Cajal _ discovered, among other things, that the brain had both white and gray matter, and that fiber connect the two halves of the brain. Gall Fechner’s work had proved Immanuel Kant wrong when Kant said that _. psychology could never be a science The method of logic that characterizes psychology and that was favored in Germany of the 19th century was _. the inductive method In modern medicine, the cause of a person’s dementia typically cannot be determined until autopsy. Thus, _ clinical research method continues to be of significance in medicine and psychology. Broca’s With regard to the speed of the nerve impulse, perhaps the most important conclusion of Helmholtz’s research for psychology was the determination _. that thought and movement are not simultaneous J Müller found that nerves only give information characteristic of the sense associated with it. This means that when an auditory nerve is stimulated, it will result in someone hearing a sound, even when no noise is present. Müller called this _. the doctrine of the specific energies of nerves Who devised a theory of color vision as well as conducted research on audition? Helmholtz The calculation of the mean of a group of scores is the same as Fechner’s _. method of average error _ systematically destroyed parts of the brain using extirpation. psychology could never be a science In Fechner’s Law as one variable increases arithmetically, the other variable increases _. geometrically The point of sensitivity below which no sensation can be detected and above which sensation can be experienced is a definition of the _. absolute threshold Fechner’s flash of insight about the mind-body connection was that there is a(n) _ relationship between a mental sensation and a material stimulus. quantitative Fechner’s most important contribution to psychology was the _. quantification of the mind-body relationship German universities were especially fertile ground for scientific advances because _. there was academic freedom for students and faculty alike Late in his career, Fechner noted that the idea for describing the mind-body relationship _. had not been suggested to him by Weber’s work Wundt argued that cognitive processes such as learning and memory could not be studied by experimental methods because _. they were influenced by language and aspects thereof For Brentano, the primary research method was _. observation Wundtian psychology in Germany was slow to develop because _. it was not seen as having practical value For Wundt, feelings are _. based on three dimensions including pleasure/displeasure Wundt classified sensations according to which characteristics? intensity, duration, and sense modality According to Wundt, there were two elementary forms of experience, namely _. sensation and feelings This person was influenced by Fechner’s rigid and systematic use of measurement in developing his own methods for researching higher level cognitive processes Hermann Ebbinghaus The fundamental purpose of creating nonsense syllables was to _. control for previous learning The ultimate fate of Wundt’s laboratory at Leipzig was that it _. was destroyed by allied bombing raids in World War II In his early work when he was his own experimental subject, the 29-year-old Wilhelm Wundt found that he could _. not pay attention to two things at once Wundt’s modification of introspection was the _. use of experimental controls Which of the following methods is defined as “the examination of experience as it occurred without any attempt to reduce experience to elementary components.” Phenomenology Stumpf and Wundt engaged in a bitter fight over the topic of _. the introspection of tones The significance of Ebbinghaus’s work is in his _. rigorous use of experimental control and his quantitative analysis of data Wundt established psychology as distinct from philosophy primarily in terms of its _. use of the experimental method Wundt’s system is most accurately identified as _. experimental psychology In 1867, Wundt offered the first course ever given in _. physiological psychology _ work on _ was the first “venture into a truly psychological problem area” rather than on physiology. Ebbinghaus’; learning While Wundt had argued that learning and memory could not be studied experimentally, who soon proved him wrong? Ebbinghaus Wundt’s doctrine of apperception refers to _. the process of organizing mental elements into a whole Ebbinghaus’ curve of forgetting shows that _. material is forgotten rapidly in the first hours after learning and then the forgetting slows down For Wundt, the subject matter of psychology was _. consciousness Act psychology, in contrast to Wundt’s approach, claimed that psychology should _. study mental processes or functions and not mental structure The subject matter of psychology is the act of experiencing, according to _. Brentano In Wundt’s laboratory, introspection was used to assess _. immediate experience Which of the following is NOT one of Wundt’s experimental conditions? Observers must be able to describe the qualitative aspects of their experiences. Given that many of his research findings remain valid today, _ can be seen as more influential than _. Ebbinghaus; Wundt Külpe opposed Wundt by claiming that conscious thought processes can be carried out without the presence of sensations or feelings. Külpe’s view is known as _. imageless thought Ebbinghaus is important for the history of psychology because he _. successfully challenged Wundt’s claim that higher mental processes, such as learning and memory, could not be studied in the laboratory Brentano’s system of psychology was called _ psychology. Act Stumpf’s method of observation was _. phenomenology Other than Stumpf’s research, his greatest influence on psychology may have been _. educating the founders of Gestalt psychology Which of the following are the three dimensions of Wundt’s tridimensional theory of feelings? pleasure/displeasure; tension/relaxation; excitement/depression. Wundt’s term voluntarism reflects his emphasis on the _. power of the will to organize the contents of the mind The first system or school of thought in psychology was called _. voluntarism by Wundt Titchener noted that the first significant advance in the study of learning since Aristotle was _. the development of the nonsense syllable Research suggests that many psychology historians consider _ to be the most important psychologist of all time. Wundt The Gestalt psychologists’ best-known tenet is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This same tenet was alleged in Wundt’s principle of _. apperception Wundt’s theory of feelings was based on _. his own introspections Who discovered the direction of travel of nerve impulses in the brain and spinal cord? Cajal Empiricism attributes all knowledge to _. experience In modern medicine, the cause of a person’s dementia typically cannot be determined until autopsy. Thus, _ clinical research method continues to be of significance in medicine and psychology. Broca’s Descartes proposed that the mind produces two kinds of ideas, _ and _. derived; innate The response of salivation following the stimulus of food on the tongue is an illustration of Descartes’ _ reflex action theory The point of sensitivity below which no sensation can be detected and above which sensation can be experienced is a definition of the _. absolute threshold _ was a pioneer in research on reflex behavior showing that reflexes could occur in the absence of brain involvement. Hall Which British empiricist championed women’s rights and condemned the unequal status of women? John Stuart Mill James Mill demonstrated a radical perspective because he believed that the mind is a(n) _. machine Late in his career, Fechner noted that the idea for describing the mind-body relationship _. had not been suggested to him by Weber’s work Which of the following is an example of an innate idea? infinity J. Müller found that nerves only give information characteristic of the sense associated with it. This means that when an auditory nerve is stimulated, it will result in someone hearing a sound, even when no noise is present. Müller called this _. the doctrine of the specific energies of nerves Skinner’s self-discipline as a student and Freud’s being ignored and rejected early in his career indicated that _. participants may themselves produce biased accounts Modern psychology differs from philosophy in which of the following ways? Modern psychology uses objective methods to study questions. Philosophy depends upon speculation and intuition in order to answer questions. Both the term and concept of positivism represent the thought of _. Comte Currently, psychology _. has been described as a sequence of failed paradigms and may be more fragmented than at any time in its history What was the significance of the defecating duck? 1. All of the above.100% 2. It was widely popular and well-known.3. It was described as the “glory of France.” 4. It demonstrated the Zeitgeist of the time.5. It was one example of the spirit of mechanism. _ was the first successful demonstration of artificial intelligence. Babbage’s calculating machine For Locke, ideas are the result of _. sensations and reflection When _ enrolled as a graduate student at Clark University, the administration arranged a separate dining table for her/him. Francis Sumner Even when some women were admitted to graduate programs in psychology, they still encountered many barriers to their success, such as _. All of the choices are correct One of Helmholtz’s particular contributions to psychology was his work on _. vision While Hartley’s fundamental law of association was _, he also proposed that _ was necessary for associations to be formed. contiguity; repetition Modern psychology shares which of the following characteristics with ancient Greek philosophy? An interest in the same kinds of questions about human nature In the 19th century, the British and French defined science as including _. physics and chemistry only Simultaneous discovery favors which view of history? naturalistic Fechner’s work had proved Immanuel Kant wrong when Kant said that _. psychology could never be a science Who devised a theory of color vision as well as conducted research on audition? Helmholtz Derived ideas _. arise from the direct application of an external stimulus Freud’s idea “Einfall” was translated to English into the term _ which means something other than what Freud implied in the original German. free association Complex ideas formed from simple ideas take on new qualities. This is a definition of _. John Stuart Mill’s creative synthesis The idea of a house is an example of Descartes’ notion of _. derived ideas As a scientific discipline, psychology is _. one of the newest and one of the oldest A school of thought emerges whenever _. a group shares a theoretical orientation and investigates similar problems Empiricism attributes all knowledge to _. experience According to the textbook, the dominant idea of the 17th century was _. mechanism Currently, psychology _. has been described as a sequence of failed paradigms and may be more fragmented than at any time in its history Which psychologist burned his/her own letters, manuscripts, and research notes before s/he died? John Watson The theories of mechanism that invoke the movement of atoms to explain the universe were developed by _. Newton and Galileo The terms ego and id, which do not precisely represent Freud’s ideas, are examples of _. data distorted by translation The question of the distinction between mental and physical qualities refers to _. the mind-body problem The term “Zeitgeist” refers to _. the intellectual and cultural climate of the times An “autobiography” of Jung was evidently written not by Jung but by an assistant who _. altered and/or deleted some of Jung’s writings to present him in a manner suiting his family and followers Even when some women were admitted to graduate programs in psychology, they still encountered many barriers to their success, such as _. All of the choices are correct Weber’s Law, the formulation of how much change in a stimulus is required for a subject to detect it, rests on the measurement of the _. just noticeable difference _ was the first successful demonstration of artificial intelligence. Babbage’s calculating machine Late in his career, Fechner noted that the idea for describing the mind-body relationship _. had not been suggested to him by Weber’s work While Hartley’s fundamental law of association was _, he also proposed that _ was necessary for associations to be formed. contiguity; repetition Freud’s idea “Einfall” was translated to English into the term _ which means something other than what Freud implied in the original German. free association J Müller found that nerves only give information characteristic of the sense associated with it. This means that when an auditory nerve is stimulated, it will result in someone hearing a sound, even when no noise is present. Müller called this _. the doctrine of the specific energies of nerves Descartes makes a case that because the body is matter the laws of _ apply. mechanics _ discovered the law, S = K log R. Fechner Perhaps the most valuable outcome of the study of the history of psychology is that one will learn the _. relationships among psychology’s ideas, theories, and research strategies Fechner’s work had proved Immanuel Kant wrong when Kant said that _. psychology could never be a science Skinner’s self-discipline as a student and Freud’s being ignored and rejected early in his career indicated that _. participants may themselves produce biased accounts The method of logic that characterizes psychology and that was favored in Germany of the 19th century was _. the inductive method The most effective criticisms of phrenology came from whom? Flourens For Descartes, the application of mathematical principles to sciences would produce _. certainty of knowledge The calculation of the mean of a group of scores is the same as Fechner’s _. method of average error What was the most influential doctrine to modern psychology? Empiricism Other than Stumpf’s research, his greatest influence on psychology may have been _. educating the founders of Gestalt psychology In Wundt’s laboratory, introspection was used to assess _. immediate experience The first systematic study of animal intelligence was by _. Romanes The Gestalt psychologists’ best-known tenet is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This same tenet was alleged in Wundt’s principle of _. apperception For Wundt, the subject matter of psychology was _. consciousness Galton found that a substantial proportion of word associations were evidence of _. the effects of childhood experiences on the adult According to Darwin, human emotional expressions reflect _. the inheritance of animal responses that may not be adaptive for humans The sum of our experiences as they exist at a particular moment is Titchener’s definition of _. consciousness For Wundt, feelings are _. based on three dimensions including pleasure/displeasure According to Wundt, psychology should be concerned with the study of _. immediate experience Wundt argued that cognitive processes such as learning and memory could not be studied by experimental methods because _. they were influenced by language and aspects thereof Which of the following are influenced by Galton’s work? 1. statistical techniques 2. testing methods 3. All of the above.100% 4. heredity 5. child development Which of the following is NOT one of Wundt’s experimental conditions? Observers must be able to describe the qualitative aspects of their experiences. _ was a confidant of Darwin who introduced the concept of evolution into geological theory. Lyell Wundt’s system is most accurately identified as _. experimental psychology Wundt’s theory of feelings was based on _. his own introspections Who first highlighted the importance of central tendency? Quetelet Ebbinghaus measured the rate of human learning by _. counting the number of repetitions needed for one perfect reproduction of the material Provided that students and colleagues were properly respectful, Titchener was _ to them. kind and helpful Külpe’s method emphasized all of the following except _. investigating unconscious processes Wundt established psychology as distinct from philosophy primarily in terms of its _. use of the experimental method The notion that there is a continuity of consciousness and cognitive processes between animals and humans was suggested and/or demonstrated by _. Darwin’s evidence Ordinary words such as “table” were not to be used by Titchener’s introspectionists. Therefore, it became a goal to _. develop a working vocabulary free of meaning The psychological study of music was pioneered by _. Stumpf Külpe opposed Wundt by claiming that conscious thought processes can be carried out without the presence of sensations or feelings. Külpe’s view is known as _. imageless thought Because some time elapsed between the experience and the reporting of it, critics charged that introspection was really a form of _. retrospection Titchener discarded aspects of Wundt’s system, including _. apperception Galton’s Hereditary Genius was mainly concerned with _. a statistical analysis of the concept of eminent men producing eminent offspring Who was the first to show that biological and social data were normally distributed? Quetelet Galton’s measures of intellectual functioning assumed correlation between intelligence and _. acuteness of the senses For Titchener, distinct sensations combined with others to form _. perceptions and ideas Toward the end of Titchener’s career, he came to favor the _ method instead of the _ method. phenomenological; introspective Titchener’s definition of the appropriate subject matter of psychology is _. conscious experience According to the textbook, a significant contribution of structuralism was _. its service as a target for criticism Titchener discarded aspects of Wundt’s system, including _. apperception In his treatment of women, Titchener _. demonstrated both support of and obstruction of women in psychology Who scolded Titchener for still practicing “a very old fashioned standpoint” in excluding women from psychology meetings? Ladd-Franklin By the 1920s the term used by Titchener for his system of psychology was _. existential _ was the first American woman to receive a Ph.D. degree in psychology. Margaret Floy Washburn Ordinary words such as “table” were not to be used by Titchener’s introspectionists. Therefore, it became a goal to _. develop a working vocabulary free of meaning Titchener excluded women from the meetings of the Titchener Experimentalists because women: were too pure to smoke. One of the main reasons that Titchener’s thought was believed to closely parallel that of Wundt was that Titchener _. translated Wundt’s books from German into English Titchener opposed the development of areas such as child psychology and animal psychology because _. these areas did not focus on discovering the structures of mind Feelings or emotions lack clearness because _. if we focus on them to determine clearness, the feeling or emotion disappears. The influence of mechanism on Titchener is exemplified in his _. use of the chemistry term reagents instead of observers Titchener’s research identified three elements of consciousness: sensations, affective states, and _. images Titchener’s research led him to conclude that affective states had only _ dimension(s); namely _. one; pleasure/displeasure In addition to introspection, another criticism of Titchener’s system was its _. artificiality and sterility Provided that students and colleagues were properly respectful, Titchener was _ to them. kind and helpful In his introspection experiments, Titchener wanted his subjects (observers) to _. be passive recorders of the experiences registering on the conscious mind Which of the of the following statements best summarizes the protest of functional psychology against Wundt and Titchener? Functional psychology claimed that Wundt’s and Titchener’s approaches were too restrictive because they did not study the practical value of mental processes. To study mental imagery, Galton used which self-report method? the questionnaire _ was a confidant of Darwin who introduced the concept of evolution into geological theory. Lyell The work of Romanes was especially flawed because of his _. use of the anecdotal method According to Darwin, human emotional expressions reflect _. the inheritance of animal responses that may not be adaptive for humans Galton found that a substantial proportion of word associations were evidence of _. the effects of childhood experiences on the adult Today, our acceptance that the study of individual differences is appropriate subject matter for psychology is due to whose work? Galton _ is the preeminent book of Darwin’s theory of evolution, which details the evolution of humans from lower forms of life. On the Origin of Species The most important consequence of functionalism was _. the development of applied psychology The first person(s) to engage in large studies of experimental comparative psychology was/were _. Morgan Galton proposed that measurement of human traits could be defined and summarized by two numbers, which are _. the mean and the standard deviation Which of the following did Galton not endorse in the material from Hereditary Genius? the idea of natural equality One of the early sources of modern child psychology was an article in 1877 by _.C. Darwin Galton argued that what proportion of eminence could be reliably attributed to environmental influences? 0% Darwin’s ideas of evolution were not new. What was new about Darwin’s work was his _. hard data to support such a theory A consequence of Darwin’s work for psychology was _. the legitimization of nonexperimental descriptive methods When in England, Darwin displayed a wide variety of physical symptoms. These symptoms were probably _. psychosomatic-neurotic in origin A theory of evolution based on natural selection was developed independently by _. Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace The most fundamental point of Darwin’s theses was the _. fact of variation among members of the species The notion that there is a continuity of consciousness and cognitive processes between animals and humans was suggested and/or demonstrated by _. Darwin’s evidence Who could be described as the driving force of England’s scientific establishment? Huxley Which of the following are influenced by Galton’s work? All of the above. Today, scientists are sometimes portrayed as offering science as a new religion or as being enemies of religion. This stance could be traced to _. Huxley _ was an early evolutionary theorist who argued that acquired characteristics could be inherited. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Galton studied paranoid disorders by _. imaging that every person or thing he saw was spying on him Who was the first to show that human mental characteristics followed a normal distribution? Galton Who was the first to show that biological and social data were normally distributed? Quetelet What had the greatest impact upon Galton’s view on the measurement of intelligence? Locke’s theory that all knowledge comes through the senses The influence of Darwin’s work can be seen most directly in _. comparative psychology The first systematic study of animal intelligence was by _. Romanes Who first highlighted the importance of central tendency? Quetelet The _ ask, “What’s the mind made of?” whereas the _ demand, “What does it do?” structuralists; functionalists Galton’s measures of intellectual functioning assumed correlation between intelligence and _. acuteness of the senses The essential difference between Wallace’s theory of evolution and Darwin’s was that the work of the former _. did not have empirical data to support it _, a predecessor of Darwin, speculated that all mammals had evolved from a single filament and given movement by God. Erasmus Darwin The hallmark of Woodworth’s psychology was his _. focus on motivation For Angell, functionalism was to study the adaptive utility of _. consciousness John Dewey is credited with initiating the early development of functional psychology in his paper entitled, “The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology.” What was the major point that Dewey made in this paper? Behavior cannot be properly understood or analyzed into simple stimulus-response units. Behavior must be understood in terms of its result and the adaptive significance of the behavior to the organism. Who was the earliest to argue that the mind exists in its present form because of past and present efforts to adapt to various environments? Spencer Who was the founder and first president of the American Psychological Association? Hall What is often considered to be the first psychology laboratory in the United States was established by _. Hall Who pioneered an innovative method of information processing? Hollerith Which of the following statement expresses the James-Lange theory of emotions? Physiological arousal precedes the experience of an emotion. The “myth of male intellectual superiority” is derived from which of Darwin’s ideas? variability hypothesis Functionalism was most loudly criticized by the _. structuralists Who arranged for Freud and Jung to visit and lecture in America? Hall James described the manuscript of his book, The Principles of Psychology, as testimony to the fact that _. a “science of psychology” did not exist The notion of analysis of consciousness is, in James’s view, the _. psychologists’ fallacy In his presidential address to the American Psychological Association, Angell presented the goals of functional psychology. Which of the following statements represents the main concern of functionalism according to Angell? Functionalism tries to answer why mental processes exist and how they aid survival. Who stated that the subject matter of psychology was mental activity? Carr _ was one major area that G.S. Hall was interested in, as evidenced by his research in his doctoral dissertation. Space perception For James, what was most essential to human evolution? consciousness The basic tenet of _ is that the validity of an idea or conception must be tested by its practical consequences pragmatism Which of the following statements is NOT part of social Darwinism? Each nation should have a social welfare program that supports the poor. A unique aspect of Woolley’s dissertation research was the _. attribution of sex differences to social and environmental factors Scott’s hypothesis that consumers will do what they are told is called the _. law of suggestibility Cattell was a strong proponent of _. eugenics The main reason Wundt’s and Titchener’s systems did not survive in the United States was that they _. were not pragmatic If a 10-year-old can perform the same tasks as the average 15-year-old, then the child’s _ is 15 and _ is 150. mental age; IQ score In 1900, the American public’s response to the new science of psychology was _. to embrace it One consequence of the adoption of the Stanford-Binet test in the United States is that _. public education has revolved around the IQ construct ever since Who developed the Draw-A-Man Test, a widely used nonverbal intelligence test for children? Goodenough Who wrote The Theory and Practice of Advertising, the first book on the psychology of advertising? Scott The two most profound influences on the growth of clinical psychology as a specialty were _. World War II and the VA hospital system The first effective tests of higher mental processes were developed by _. Binet According to the intelligence testing of U.S. army recruits, which group scored higher on average? White Americans The team approach to the assessment and treatment of mental disorders was introduced by _. Witmer The assessment and treatment of abnormal behavior in children was established in American psychology by _. Witmer The first to apply psychology to personnel selection was _. Scott Münsterberg was best known _. through his publications in the popular press on applied psychology Which of the following methods did Cattell develop? the order-of-merit ranking method Scott argued that the most effective advertisement consisted of _. a multiple-media approach The results of testing by the Yerkes research group _. had no impact on recruitment and selection or the war effort as a whole Who revised the Binet intelligence test into what is known as the Stanford-Binet test? Terman Behavioral and cognitive disorders would be attributed most heavily to _ by Witmer. environmental factors Witmer’s “clinical psychology” is today known as _. school psychology With regard to racial differences in IQs, the work of African American _ demonstrated the strong effects of environment. Bond Binet based his conclusion about appropriate measure of intelligence based on research conducted with _. his daughters At the end of the 19th century, the field of _ demanded the application of psychological principles to practical problems with rise in private school education. education The first techniques of psychological therapy to be used in America were developed by _. Witmer Binet and Simon’s test differed from those of Galton and Cattell in its _. emphasis on the relationship of higher cognitive processes to intelligence _ used the Binet test at Ellis Island to restrict the entry of immigrants to the United States. Goddard Witmer’s methods of assessment and diagnosis _. were constructed as he needed them To whom did Witmer turn for his diagnostic and treatment approaches? himself

Who is the father of modern psychology?

Wilhelm Wundt is the man most commonly identified as the father of Modern Psychology.

What are the modern schools of thought in psychology?

1.3.2. Modern schools of psychology Modern psychologists tend to examine human behavior through several views. The views that predominate today are psycho dynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and socio cultural perspectives.Theseviews reflect different questions about human behavior, different assumptions about how the mind works, and different kinds of explanations why people do and what they do.

The influence of unconscious mental behavior on everyday behaviorThe role of child personality in determining adult personalityThe role of intrapersonal conflict in determining human behavior

Psycho dynamic perspective tries to dig below the surface of a person’s behavior to get into unconscious motives; they think of themselves as archaeologists of the mind. Behavioral Perspectives- they emphasize the important role that previous learning experiences play in shaping the behavior of an organism.

They are concerned with how the environment affects the person’s actions. Behaviorists focus on environmental conditions (rewards and punishments) that maintain or discourage specific behaviors. The behavioral perspective sometimes called “black box” psychology because it treats the mind as a mechanical black box and focusing on what goes in to and out of the box, but not on the processes that take place inside.

This means, behaviorists are only interested in the effects of the environment (input) on behavior (output) but not the process inside the box. Humanistic Perspective- According to this perspective, human behavior is not completely determined by either unconscious dynamics or the environment.

Rather it emphasizes the uniqueness of human beings and focuses on human values and subjective experiences. This perspective places greater importance on the individual’s free will. The goal of humanistic psychology was helping people to express themselves creatively and achieve their full potential or self-actualization, (developing the human potential to its fullest).

Cognitive Perspective- it emphasizes what goes on in people’s heads; how people reason, remember, understand language, solve problems, explain experiences and form beliefs. This perspective is concerned about the mental processes. The most important contribution of this perspective has been to show how people’s thoughts and explanations affect their actions, feelings, and choices.

Techniques used to explore behavior from a cognitive perspective include electrical recording of brain activity, electrical stimulation and radioactive tracing of metabolic activity in the nervous system. Biological Perspective- itfocuses on how bodily events or functioning of the body affect behavior, feelings, and thoughts.

This perspective holds that an understanding of the brain and the nervous system is central in the understanding of behaving, thoughts, and emotions. Researchers of this perspective study how biology, for instance, brain and various brain chemicals affect psychological processes such as learning, performance, perception of reality, the experience of emotions, etc.

Biological perspective pointed out that biology and behavior interact in a complex way which means behavior can affect biology and biology can affect behavior. It also emphasized the idea that we are physical beings who evolved over a long time and that is genetic heritage can predispose us to behave in a certain way.

Just as we evolved eyebrows to protect our eyes, we may have evolved certain kinds of behavior patterns to protect our bodies and ensure the survival of our species. Sociocultural Perspectives- It focuses on the social and cultural forces or factors outside the individual that affects human behavior.

As a fish cannot leave without water, human behavior cannot be understood without sociocultural context (the social and cultural environment) that people “Swim” in every day. Within this perspective, social psychologists consider roles, how group affect attitudes and behaviors, why authority and other people like spouse, lovers, friends, bosses, parents, and strangers affect each of us.

Cultural psychologists also examine how cultural rules and values (both explicit and unspoken) affect people’s development, behavior, and feelings. They said humans are both the products and the producers of culture, and our behavior always occurs in some cultural contexts.

What are the two historical roots of psychology are the disciplines of?

Two historical roots of psychology are the disciplines of: Philosophy and chemistry.

How has the study of psychology changed over time?

Learning Objectives – By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of Wundt and James in the development of psychology
• Appreciate Freud’s influence on psychology
• Understand the basic tenets of Gestalt psychology
• Appreciate the important role that behaviorism played in psychology’s history
• Understand basic tenets of humanism
• Understand how the cognitive revolution shifted psychology’s focus back to the mind

Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th century.

Two men, working in the 19th century, are generally credited as being the founders of psychology as a science and academic discipline that was distinct from philosophy. Their names were Wilhelm Wundt and William James. This section will provide an overview of the shifts in paradigms that have influenced psychology from Wundt and James through today.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) was a German scientist who was the first person to be referred to as a psychologist. His famous book entitled Principles of Physiological Psychology was published in 1873. Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and he believed that the goal of psychology was to identify components of consciousness and how those components combined to result in our conscious experience.

• Wundt used introspection (he called it “internal perception”), a process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other aspect of nature that a scientist observed.
• Wundt’s version of introspection used only very specific experimental conditions in which an external stimulus was designed to produce a scientifically observable (repeatable) experience of the mind (Danziger, 1980).

The first stringent requirement was the use of “trained” or practiced observers, who could immediately observe and report a reaction. The second requirement was the use of repeatable stimuli that always produced the same experience in the subject and allowed the subject to expect and thus be fully attentive to the inner reaction.

These experimental requirements were put in place to eliminate “interpretation” in the reporting of internal experiences and to counter the argument that there is no way to know that an individual is observing their mind or consciousness accurately, since it cannot be seen by any other person. This attempt to understand the structure or characteristics of the mind was known as structuralism,

Wundt established his psychology laboratory at the University at Leipzig in 1879 ( ). In this laboratory, Wundt and his students conducted experiments on, for example, reaction times. A subject, sometimes in a room isolated from the scientist, would receive a stimulus such as a light, image, or sound.

The subject’s reaction to the stimulus would be to push a button, and an apparatus would record the time to reaction. Wundt could measure reaction time to one-thousandth of a second (Nicolas & Ferrand, 1999). (a) Wilhelm Wundt is credited as one of the founders of psychology. He created the first laboratory for psychological research.

(b) This photo shows him seated and surrounded by fellow researchers and equipment in his laboratory in Germany. However, despite his efforts to train individuals in the process of introspection, this process remained highly subjective, and there was very little agreement between individuals. As a result, structuralism fell out of favor with the passing of Wundt’s student, Edward Titchener, in 1927 (Gordon, 1995).

William James (1842–1910) was the first American psychologist who espoused a different perspective on how psychology should operate ( ). James was introduced to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and accepted it as an explanation of an organism’s characteristics. Key to that theory is the idea that natural selection leads to organisms that are adapted to their environment, including their behavior.

Adaptation means that a trait of an organism has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual, because it has been naturally selected. As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior in the world, and as such, his perspective was known as functionalism,

1. Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment.
2. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism.
3. Like Wundt, James believed that introspection could serve as one means by which someone might study mental activities, but James also relied on more objective measures, including the use of various recording devices, and examinations of concrete products of mental activities and of anatomy and physiology (Gordon, 1995).

William James, shown here in a self-portrait, was the first American psychologist. Perhaps one of the most influential and well-known figures in psychology’s history was Sigmund Freud ( ). Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist who was fascinated by patients suffering from “hysteria” and neurosis. Hysteria was an ancient diagnosis for disorders, primarily of women with a wide variety of symptoms, including physical symptoms and emotional disturbances, none of which had an apparent physical cause.

• Freud theorized that many of his patients’ problems arose from the unconscious mind.
• In Freud’s view, the unconscious mind was a repository of feelings and urges of which we have no awareness.
• Gaining access to the unconscious, then, was crucial to the successful resolution of the patient’s problems.
• According to Freud, the unconscious mind could be accessed through dream analysis, by examinations of the first words that came to people’s minds, and through seemingly innocent slips of the tongue.

Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood experiences, and this particular perspective dominated clinical psychology for several decades (Thorne & Henley, 2005). (a) Sigmund Freud was a highly influential figure in the history of psychology. Freud’s ideas were influential, and you will learn more about them when you study lifespan development, personality, and therapy. For instance, many therapists believe strongly in the unconscious and the impact of early childhood experiences on the rest of a person’s life.

The method of psychoanalysis, which involves the patient talking about their experiences and selves, while not invented by Freud, was certainly popularized by him and is still used today. Many of Freud’s other ideas, however, are controversial. Drew Westen (1998) argues that many of the criticisms of Freud’s ideas are misplaced, in that they attack his older ideas without taking into account later writings.

Westen also argues that critics fail to consider the success of the broad ideas that Freud introduced or developed, such as the importance of childhood experiences in adult motivations, the role of unconscious versus conscious motivations in driving our behavior, the fact that motivations can cause conflicts that affect behavior, the effects of mental representations of ourselves and others in guiding our interactions, and the development of personality over time.

• Westen identifies subsequent research support for all of these ideas.
• More modern iterations of Freud’s clinical approach have been empirically demonstrated to be effective (Knekt et al., 2008; Shedler, 2010).
• Some current practices in psychotherapy involve examining unconscious aspects of the self and relationships, often through the relationship between the therapist and the client.

Freud’s historical significance and contributions to clinical practice merit his inclusion in a discussion of the historical movements within psychology. Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Kurt Koffka (1886–1941), and Wolfgang Köhler (1887–1967) were three German psychologists who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century to escape Nazi Germany.

These men are credited with introducing psychologists in the United States to various Gestalt principles. The word Gestalt roughly translates to “whole;” a major emphasis of Gestalt psychology deals with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception.

For example, a song may be made up of individual notes played by different instruments, but the real nature of the song is perceived in the combinations of these notes as they form the melody, rhythm, and harmony. In many ways, this particular perspective would have directly contradicted Wundt’s ideas of structuralism (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

• Unfortunately, in moving to the United States, these men were forced to abandon much of their work and were unable to continue to conduct research on a large scale.
• These factors along with the rise of behaviorism (described next) in the United States prevented principles of Gestalt psychology from being as influential in the United States as they had been in their native Germany (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Despite these issues, several Gestalt principles are still very influential today. Considering the human individual as a whole rather than as a sum of individually measured parts became an important foundation in humanistic theory late in the century.

• The ideas of Gestalt have continued to influence research on sensation and perception.
• Structuralism, Freud, and the Gestalt psychologists were all concerned in one way or another with describing and understanding inner experience.
• But other researchers had concerns that inner experience could be a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and chose instead to exclusively study behavior, the objectively observable outcome of mental processes.

Early work in the field of behavior was conducted by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936). Pavlov studied a form of learning behavior called a conditioned reflex, in which an animal or human produced a reflex (unconscious) response to a stimulus and, over time, was conditioned to produce the response to a different stimulus that the experimenter associated with the original stimulus.

The reflex Pavlov worked with was salivation in response to the presence of food. The salivation reflex could be elicited using a second stimulus, such as a specific sound, that was presented in association with the initial food stimulus several times. Once the response to the second stimulus was “learned,” the food stimulus could be omitted.

Pavlov’s “classical conditioning” is only one form of learning behavior studied by behaviorists. John B. Watson (1878–1958) was an influential American psychologist whose most famous work occurred during the early 20th century at Johns Hopkins University ( ).

1. While Wundt and James were concerned with understanding conscious experience, Watson thought that the study of consciousness was flawed.
2. Because he believed that objective analysis of the mind was impossible, Watson preferred to focus directly on observable behavior and try to bring that behavior under control.

Watson was a major proponent of shifting the focus of psychology from the mind to behavior, and this approach of observing and controlling behavior came to be known as behaviorism, A major object of study by behaviorists was learned behavior and its interaction with inborn qualities of the organism.

1. Behaviorism commonly used animals in experiments under the assumption that what was learned using animal models could, to some degree, be applied to human behavior.
2. Indeed, Tolman (1938) stated, “I believe that everything important in psychology (except such matters as involve society and words) can be investigated in essence through the continued experimental and theoretical analysis of the determiners of rat behavior at a choice-point in a maze.” John B.

Watson is known as the father of behaviorism within psychology. Behaviorism dominated experimental psychology for several decades, and its influence can still be felt today (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Behaviorism is largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline through its objective methods and especially experimentation.

In addition, it is used in behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Behavior modification is commonly used in classroom settings. Behaviorism has also led to research on environmental influences on human behavior.B.F. Skinner (1904–1990) was an American psychologist ( ). Like Watson, Skinner was a behaviorist, and he concentrated on how behavior was affected by its consequences.

Therefore, Skinner spoke of reinforcement and punishment as major factors in driving behavior. As a part of his research, Skinner developed a chamber that allowed the careful study of the principles of modifying behavior through reinforcement and punishment.

This device, known as an operant conditioning chamber (or more familiarly, a Skinner box), has remained a crucial resource for researchers studying behavior (Thorne & Henley, 2005). (a) B.F. Skinner is famous for his research on operant conditioning. (b) Modified versions of the operant conditioning chamber, or Skinner box, are still widely used in research settings today.

(credit a: modification of work by “Silly rabbit”/Wikimedia Commons) The Skinner box is a chamber that isolates the subject from the external environment and has a behavior indicator such as a lever or a button. When the animal pushes the button or lever, the box is able to deliver a positive reinforcement of the behavior (such as food) or a punishment (such as a noise) or a token conditioner (such as a light) that is correlated with either the positive reinforcement or punishment.

Skinner’s focus on positive and negative reinforcement of learned behaviors had a lasting influence in psychology that has waned somewhat since the growth of research in cognitive psychology. Despite this, conditioned learning is still used in human behavioral modification. Skinner’s two widely read and controversial popular science books about the value of operant conditioning for creating happier lives remain as thought-provoking arguments for his approach (Greengrass, 2004).

During the early 20th century, American psychology was dominated by behaviorism and psychoanalysis. However, some psychologists were uncomfortable with what they viewed as limited perspectives being so influential to the field. They objected to the pessimism and determinism (all actions driven by the unconscious) of Freud.

1. They also disliked the reductionism, or simplifying nature, of behaviorism.
2. Behaviorism is also deterministic at its core, because it sees human behavior as entirely determined by a combination of genetics and environment.
3. Some psychologists began to form their own ideas that emphasized personal control, intentionality, and a true predisposition for “good” as important for our self-concept and our behavior.

Thus, humanism emerged. Humanism is a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans. Two of the most well-known proponents of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (O’Hara, n.d.). Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) was an American psychologist who is best known for proposing a hierarchy of human needs in motivating behavior ( ).

Although this concept will be discussed in more detail in a later chapter, a brief overview will be provided here. Maslow asserted that so long as basic needs necessary for survival were met (e.g., food, water, shelter), higher-level needs (e.g., social needs) would begin to motivate behavior. According to Maslow, the highest-level needs relate to self-actualization, a process by which we achieve our full potential.

Obviously, the focus on the positive aspects of human nature that are characteristic of the humanistic perspective is evident (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Humanistic psychologists rejected, on principle, the research approach based on reductionist experimentation in the tradition of the physical and biological sciences, because it missed the “whole” human being.

Beginning with Maslow and Rogers, there was an insistence on a humanistic research program. This program has been largely qualitative (not measurement-based), but there exist a number of quantitative research strains within humanistic psychology, including research on happiness, self-concept, meditation, and the outcomes of humanistic psychotherapy (Friedman, 2008).

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is shown. Carl Rogers (1902–1987) was also an American psychologist who, like Maslow, emphasized the potential for good that exists within all people ( ). Rogers used a therapeutic technique known as client-centered therapy in helping his clients deal with problematic issues that resulted in their seeking psychotherapy.

1. Unlike a psychoanalytic approach in which the therapist plays an important role in interpreting what conscious behavior reveals about the unconscious mind, client-centered therapy involves the patient taking a lead role in the therapy session.
2. Rogers believed that a therapist needed to display three features to maximize the effectiveness of this particular approach: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

Unconditional positive regard refers to the fact that the therapist accepts their client for who they are, no matter what he or she might say. Provided these factors, Rogers believed that people were more than capable of dealing with and working through their own issues (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Humanism has been influential to psychology as a whole. Both Maslow and Rogers are well-known names among students of psychology (you will read more about both men later in this text), and their ideas have influenced many scholars. Furthermore, Rogers’ client-centered approach to therapy is still commonly used in psychotherapeutic settings today (O’hara, n.d.) View a brief video of Carl Rogers describing his therapeutic approach. Behaviorism’s emphasis on objectivity and focus on external behavior had pulled psychologists’ attention away from the mind for a prolonged period of time. The early work of the humanistic psychologists redirected attention to the individual human as a whole, and as a conscious and self-aware being.

• By the 1950s, new disciplinary perspectives in linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science were emerging, and these areas revived interest in the mind as a focus of scientific inquiry.
• This particular perspective has come to be known as the cognitive revolution (Miller, 2003).
• By 1967, Ulric Neisser published the first textbook entitled Cognitive Psychology, which served as a core text in cognitive psychology courses around the country (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Although no one person is entirely responsible for starting the cognitive revolution, Noam Chomsky was very influential in the early days of this movement ( ). Chomsky (1928–), an American linguist, was dissatisfied with the influence that behaviorism had had on psychology.

• He believed that psychology’s focus on behavior was short-sighted and that the field had to re-incorporate mental functioning into its purview if it were to offer any meaningful contributions to understanding behavior (Miller, 2003).
• Noam Chomsky was very influential in beginning the cognitive revolution.

In 2010, this mural honoring him was put up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (credit: Robert Moran) European psychology had never really been as influenced by behaviorism as had American psychology; and thus, the cognitive revolution helped reestablish lines of communication between European psychologists and their American counterparts. Furthermore, psychologists began to cooperate with scientists in other fields, like anthropology, linguistics, computer science, and neuroscience, among others.

• This interdisciplinary approach often was referred to as the cognitive sciences, and the influence and prominence of this particular perspective resonates in modern-day psychology (Miller, 2003).
• Feminist Psychology The science of psychology has had an impact on human wellbeing, both positive and negative.

The dominant influence of Western, white, and male academics in the early history of psychology meant that psychology developed with the biases inherent in those individuals, which often had negative consequences for members of society that were not white or male.

1. Women, members of ethnic minorities in both the United States and other countries, and individuals with sexual orientations other than heterosexual had difficulties entering the field of psychology and therefore influencing its development.
2. They also suffered from the attitudes of white, male psychologists, who were not immune to the nonscientific attitudes prevalent in the society in which they developed and worked.

Until the 1960s, the science of psychology was largely a “womanless” psychology (Crawford & Marecek, 1989), meaning that few women were able to practice psychology, so they had little influence on what was studied. In addition, the experimental subjects of psychology were mostly men, which resulted from underlying assumptions that gender had no influence on psychology and that women were not of sufficient interest to study.

An article by Naomi Weisstein, first published in 1968 (Weisstein, 1993), stimulated a feminist revolution in psychology by presenting a critique of psychology as a science. She also specifically criticized male psychologists for constructing the psychology of women entirely out of their own cultural biases and without careful experimental tests to verify any of their characterizations of women.

Weisstein used, as examples, statements by prominent psychologists in the 1960s, such as this quote by Bruno Bettleheim: “. we must start with the realization that, as much as women want to be good scientists or engineers, they want first and foremost to be womanly companions of men and to be mothers.” Weisstein’s critique formed the foundation for the subsequent development of a feminist psychology that attempted to be free of the influence of male cultural biases on our knowledge of the psychology of women and, indeed, of both genders.

• Crawford & Marecek (1989) identify several feminist approaches to psychology that can be described as feminist psychology.
• These include re-evaluating and discovering the contributions of women to the history of psychology, studying psychological gender differences, and questioning the male bias present across the practice of the scientific approach to knowledge.

Culture has important impacts on individuals and social psychology, yet the effects of culture on psychology are under-studied. There is a risk that psychological theories and data derived from white, American settings could be assumed to apply to individuals and social groups from other cultures and this is unlikely to be true (Betancourt & López, 1993).

• One weakness in the field of cross-cultural psychology is that in looking for differences in psychological attributes across cultures, there remains a need to go beyond simple descriptive statistics (Betancourt & López, 1993).
• In this sense, it has remained a descriptive science, rather than one seeking to determine cause and effect.

For example, a study of characteristics of individuals seeking treatment for a binge eating disorder in Hispanic American, African American, and Caucasian American individuals found significant differences between groups (Franko et al., 2012). The study concluded that results from studying any one of the groups could not be extended to the other groups, and yet potential causes of the differences were not measured.

• This history of multicultural psychology in the United States is a long one.
• The role of African American psychologists in researching the cultural differences between African American individual and social psychology is but one example.
• In 1920, Cecil Sumner was the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology in the United States.

Sumner established a psychology degree program at Howard University, leading to the education of a new generation of African American psychologists (Black, Spence, and Omari, 2004). Much of the work of early African American psychologists (and a general focus of much work in first half of the 20th century in psychology in the United States) was dedicated to testing and intelligence testing in particular (Black et al., 2004).

That emphasis has continued, particularly because of the importance of testing in determining opportunities for children, but other areas of exploration in African-American psychology research include learning style, sense of community and belonging, and spiritualism (Black et al., 2004). The American Psychological Association has several ethnically based organizations for professional psychologists that facilitate interactions among members.

Since psychologists belonging to specific ethnic groups or cultures have the most interest in studying the psychology of their communities, these organizations provide an opportunity for the growth of research on the impact of culture on individual and social psychology. Read a news story about the influence of an African American’s psychology research on the historic Brown v. Board of Education civil rights case. Before the time of Wundt and James, questions about the mind were considered by philosophers. However, both Wundt and James helped create psychology as a distinct scientific discipline.

Wundt was a structuralist, which meant he believed that our cognitive experience was best understood by breaking that experience into its component parts. He thought this was best accomplished by introspection. William James was the first American psychologist, and he was a proponent of functionalism.

This particular perspective focused on how mental activities served as adaptive responses to an organism’s environment. Like Wundt, James also relied on introspection; however, his research approach also incorporated more objective measures as well. Sigmund Freud believed that understanding the unconscious mind was absolutely critical to understand conscious behavior.

1. This was especially true for individuals that he saw who suffered from various hysterias and neuroses.
2. Freud relied on dream analysis, slips of the tongue, and free association as means to access the unconscious.
3. Psychoanalytic theory remained a dominant force in clinical psychology for several decades.

Gestalt psychology was very influential in Europe. Gestalt psychology takes a holistic view of an individual and his experiences. As the Nazis came to power in Germany, Wertheimer, Koffka, and Köhler immigrated to the United States. Although they left their laboratories and their research behind, they did introduce America to Gestalt ideas.

1. Some of the principles of Gestalt psychology are still very influential in the study of sensation and perception.
2. One of the most influential schools of thought within psychology’s history was behaviorism.
3. Behaviorism focused on making psychology an objective science by studying overt behavior and deemphasizing the importance of unobservable mental processes.

John Watson is often considered the father of behaviorism, and B.F. Skinner’s contributions to our understanding of principles of operant conditioning cannot be underestimated. As behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory took hold of so many aspects of psychology, some began to become dissatisfied with psychology’s picture of human nature.

Thus, a humanistic movement within psychology began to take hold. Humanism focuses on the potential of all people for good. Both Maslow and Rogers were influential in shaping humanistic psychology. During the 1950s, the landscape of psychology began to change. A science of behavior began to shift back to its roots of focus on mental processes.

The emergence of neuroscience and computer science aided this transition. Ultimately, the cognitive revolution took hold, and people came to realize that cognition was crucial to a true appreciation and understanding of behavior. Based on your reading, which theorist would have been most likely to agree with this statement: Perceptual phenomena are best understood as a combination of their components.

1. William James
2. Max Wertheimer
3. Carl Rogers
4. Noam Chomsky

B _ is most well-known for proposing his hierarchy of needs.

1. Noam Chomsky
2. Carl Rogers
3. Abraham Maslow
4. Sigmund Freud

C Rogers believed that providing genuineness, empathy, and _ in the therapeutic environment for his clients was critical to their being able to deal with their problems.

1. structuralism
2. functionalism
3. Gestalt
4. unconditional positive regard

D The operant conditioning chamber (aka _ box) is a device used to study the principles of operant conditioning.

1. Skinner
2. Watson
3. James
4. Koffka

A How did the object of study in psychology change over the history of the field since the 19th century? In its early days, psychology could be defined as the scientific study of mind or mental processes. Over time, psychology began to shift more towards the scientific study of behavior.

However, as the cognitive revolution took hold, psychology once again began to focus on mental processes as necessary to the understanding of behavior. In part, what aspect of psychology was the behaviorist approach to psychology a reaction to? Behaviorists studied objectively observable behavior partly in reaction to the psychologists of the mind who were studying things that were not directly observable.

Freud is probably one of the most well-known historical figures in psychology. Where have you encountered references to Freud or his ideas about the role that the unconscious mind plays in determining conscious behavior?

What started modern psychology?

19th Century – In the 19th century, psychology was established as an empirical, accepted science. While measures would change, the model of research and evaluation would begin to take shape within this 100-year time span.

• 1878 : G. Stanley Hall becomes the first American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.
• 1879 : Wilhelm Wundt establishes the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany dedicated to the study of the mind.
• 1883 : G. Stanley Hall opens the first experimental psychology lab in the U.S. at Johns Hopkins University.
• 1885 : Herman Ebbinghaus publishes his seminal “Über das Gedächtnis” (“On Memory”), in which he describes learning and memory experiments he conducted on himself.
• 1886 : Sigmund Freud begins offering therapy to patients in Vienna, Austria.
• 1888 : James McKeen Cattell becomes the first professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He would later publish “Mental Tests and Measurements,” marking the advent of psychological assessment.
• 1890 : William James publishes “Principles of Psychology.” Sir Francis Galton establishes correlation techniques to better understand the relationship between variables in intelligence studies.
• 1892 : G. Stanley Hall forms the American Psychological Association (APA), enlisting 26 members in the first meeting.
• 1896 : Lightner Witmer establishes the first psychology clinic in America.
• 1898 : Edward Thorndike develops the Law of Effect,

What is modern psychology based on?

1.1 Paradigmatic: The Three Major Schools – Scientific paradigms are defined by their explanatory principles, the concomitant concepts and terms, and their preferred methods and values. They are established and maintained by a community of scientists that endorse one and only one paradigm.

• Modern psychology has spawned three major theoretical paradigms: cognitivism, behaviorism, and depth psychology, all of which continue longstanding philosophical traditions.
• In the tradition of rational philosophy, cognitivism regards human beings as reasonable, conscious, reflexive, and self-organizing.

In this view, each person is endowed with insight into natural, logical, and social laws, and may utilize their free will and foresight to plan and execute actions directed towards valued goals. Moreover, humans are seen as sociable and communicative.

Language is a tool for representing imaginations and intentions both in a person’s own mind and in his or her interaction with others. Authors with a cognitive orientation (e.g., Broadbent, Köhler, Piaget) rely on introspection and self-reports (e.g., think-aloud protocols in studies of problem solving), but also collect behavioral data (e.g., operations in the course of problem solving).

Typically, cognitivistic studies employ methods from mathematics, physics (e.g., field theory), or engineering (e.g., information theory) to elucidate the intricacies of mind and behavior. In the tradition of materialism and utilitarianism, behaviorism (in Russia: reflexology) focuses on overt behavior (e.g., locomotion, instrumental acts) elicited by external stimuli (e.g., color signals) and internal stimuli (e.g., thirst), or emitted to take advantage of opportunities in the natural and social environment (e.g., food, praise).

1. According to this conception, a human being is an automaton capable of forming stimulus-response associations (habits) and of adapting to contingencies between acts and their rewards or punishments (reinforcements).
2. Behaviorism assumes innate, species-specific habits, or instincts (e.g., mating).
3. Authors such as Hull, Pavlov, and Skinner have studied the acquisition of new habits and the shaping of behavior by reinforcements.

Orthodox behaviorism opposes introspection, and relies exclusively on objective behavioral data. In the tradition of mysticism, depth psychology posits a pervading influence of unconscious ideas and affects on conscious thought, language, and action. Freud’s psychoanalysis, the most popular paradigm within depth psychology, contends that the unconscious originates from personal conflicts in early childhood when anxiety-provoking tendencies (primarily hostility towards the parent of opposite sex) are repressed and rejected from the conscious mind.

1. In his analytical psychology, Jung even postulates an innate, species-specific unconscious consisting of archetypes.
2. These archetypes are explained as fundamental experiences (e.g., motherhood, fire) which have been acquired and transmitted over generations.
3. Depth psychology believes in the power of the enlightened human mind to reveal unconscious contents.

However, the revelation of unconscious contents requires skillful interpretations. Beyond straightforward observations, interpretations should offer explanations for the meaning of symbols from the unconscious (e.g., the moon as a symbol of femininity) which are encountered in dreams and other fantasies, as well as in achievements (e.g., in the arts) and failures (e.g., slips of the tongue).

• The three major theoretical paradigms gained wide recognition during the first half of the twentieth century; they were also engaged in mutual antagonisms.
• However, no final verdict has been reached in the battles for dominance.
• There were some partially successful attempts to reconcile the conflicting paradigms.

At present, conflicts between ‘schools’ have attenuated and orthodoxy has been superseded by eclecticism. For instance, numerous behaviorists now regard cognitions (e.g., attitudes and beliefs) as determinants of behavior, despite their subjective nature, while cognitive theorists accept the notion of unconscious ideas (e.g., subliminal perceptions).

What are the major approaches to modern psychology?

Brief explanation of main approaches used in psychology Psychology is about understanding our mind and how it impacts on our behaviour. It looks into communication, memory, thoughts and emotions; Understanding what drives our decisions, actions, thoughts and feelings allows us to address any challenges we might be facing.

There are five major approaches in psychology. These are biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive and humanistic. Each approach attempts to explain human behaviour differently. An approach is a view that involves certain assumptions about human behaviour. There are many different theories within an approach, but they all share the same assumptions.

This post will briefly explain main approaches in psychology and will discuss the approach that is most widely used nowadays in mental health. The aim of this post is to provide some understanding of different perspectives. Main assumption of behavioural approach is that all behaviours are learned through interactions with the environment.

1. When you think of people in laboratories wearing long white coats and observing rats, these are behavioural psychologists.
2. They acknowledge emotions however they believe only behaviour can be objectively and scientifically measured.
3. Psychodynamic approach starts with Sigmund Freud.
4. His theory of psychoanalysis is one of the biggest steps in the field of psychology.

This approach explains our behaviour through our childhood experiences. It looks back at our childhood to make sense of our actions in the present. It believes our choices are heavily influenced by our unconscious mind. Humanistic approach focuses on the view that each person is unique and has free will to change at any time in their life.

1. It believes we are responsible for our own happiness.
2. It emphasises how our perception of the world is subjective therefore it is an opposing approach to any scientific attempts to explain human behaviour.
3. Cognitive psychology is about knowing the processes that happen in our minds.
4. It studies cognition, which are the processes through which knowledge is acquired.

Memory, perception and attention are examples of these processes. Biological perspective revolves around the view that all thoughts, feelings and behaviour have a biological cause. It studies brain and genetics. It believes that most of our behaviour is inherited and can be explained using neurological terms.

Our challenges come from developing faulty thoughts about others, our world and us.These faulty thoughts cause distortions in the way we see things, they make us think irrationally.We live in this world through making sense of our experiences, the way we process information makes us form certain views and beliefs about oneself, others and the world around us. If these beliefs are inaccurate or our ways of reasoning are inadequate, then our emotions and behaviour may become distorted.

CBT’s aim is to change our negative thinking patterns. This negative thinking patterns result in unwanted emotions and behaviour. Psychology is a fascinating field that allows us to understand ourselves and the world around us. This understanding is crucial to overcome any challenges in life.

What are the 4 modern approaches to psychology?

Major Perspectives – The early years of psychology were dominated by a succession of these different schools of thought. If you have taken a psychology course, you might remember learning about structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanism—all of which are different schools of psychological thought.

Which of the 3 main schools of thought in psychology remain relevant today?

A Word From Verywell – While some schools of thought have faded into obscurity, each has had an influence on the course of psychology’s development. Some more recent schools of psychology, including behaviorism and cognitive psychology, remain highly influential.

What are the two pillars of psychology?

Introduction to Contemporary Psychology – Contemporary psychology is a diverse field that is influenced by all of the historical perspectives described in the previous section of reading. Reflective of the discipline’s diversity is the diversity seen within the American Psychological Association (APA).

The APA is a professional organization representing psychologists in the United States. The APA is the largest organization of psychologists in the world, and its mission is to advance and disseminate psychological knowledge for the betterment of people. There are 56 divisions within the APA, representing a wide variety of specialties that range from Societies for the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality to Exercise and Sport Psychology to Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology.

Reflecting the diversity of the field of psychology itself, members, affiliate members, and associate members span the spectrum from students to doctoral-level psychologists, and come from a variety of places including educational settings, criminal justice, hospitals, the armed forces, and industry (American Psychological Association, 2014).

Psychologists agree that there is no one right way to study the way people think or behave. There are, however, various schools of thought that evolved throughout the development of psychology that continue to shape the way we investigate human behavior. For example, some psychologists might attribute a certain behavior to biological factors such as genetics while another psychologist might consider early childhood experiences to be a more likely explanation for the behavior.

Many expert psychologists focus their entire careers on just one facet of psychology, such as developmental psychology or cognitive psychology, or even more specifically, newborn intelligence or language processing. While the field of study is large and vast, this text aims to introduce you to the main topics with psychology.

1. Domain 1: Biological (includes neuroscience, consciousness, and sensation)
2. Domain 2: Cognitive (includes the study of perception, cognition, memory, and intelligence)
3. Domain 3: Development (includes learning and conditioning, lifespan development, and language)
4. Domain 4: Social and Personality (includes the study of personality, emotion, motivation, gender, and culture)
5. Domain 5: Mental and Physical Health (includes abnormal psychology, therapy, and health psychology)

Figure 1, The five pillars, or domains, of psychology. Image adapted from Gurung, R.A., Hackathorn, J., Enns, C., Frantz, S., Cacioppo, J.T., Loop, T., & Freeman, J.E. (2016) article “Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course” from American Psychologist.

These five domains cover the main viewpoints, or perspectives, of psychology. These perspectives emphasize certain assumptions about behavior and provide a framework for psychologists in conducting research and analyzing behavior. They include some you have already read about, including Freud’s psychodynamic perspective, behaviorism, humanism, and the cognitive approach.

Other perspectives include the biological perspective, evolutionary, and socio-cultural perspectives.

What is the difference between early and modern psychology?

Background: Philosophy and Physiology – While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the time of the early Greeks. During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two entities that interact to form the human experience.

Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as the relative contributions of nature vs. nurture, are rooted in these early philosophical traditions. So what makes psychology different from philosophy? While early philosophers relied on methods such as observation and logic, today’s psychologists utilize scientific methodologies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behavior.

Physiology also contributed to psychology’s eventual emergence as a scientific discipline. Early physiological research on the brain and behavior had a dramatic impact on psychology, ultimately contributing to applying scientific methodologies to the study of human thought and behavior.

What are the 5 psychology disciplines?

Biopsychology – Biopsychology is a psychological area focused on how the brain, neurons, and nervous system influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This field draws upon many different disciplines, including basic psychology, cognitive psychology, experimental psychology, biology, physiology, and neuroscience.

Who revolutionized the study of psychology?

Learning Objectives – By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Understand the importance of Wundt and James in the development of psychology Appreciate Freud’s influence on psychology Understand the basic tenets of Gestalt psychology Appreciate the important role that behaviorism played in psychology’s history Understand basic tenets of humanism Understand how the cognitive revolution shifted psychology’s focus back to the mind

Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th century.

How has psychology changed in the 21st century?

In the 21st-century, the focus of psychology moved into the cognitive realm, where instead of strictly depending on empirical studies there was also an increased acceptance of rational thinking, and other mechanisms of acquiring information and knowledge, including reasoning, memory, attention, and language.

What is the root of psychology?

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History & Evolution of Psychology I. Ancient Egypt (664-554 BC) II. Ancient Greece (500BC-300BC) III. Graeco-Roman Period (100BC-500AD) IV. Hellenistic and Roman Periods (300-100BC & 100BC-500AD) V. The Patristic Period (200AD-500AD) VI. The Middle Ages (500AD-900AD) VII. The Renaissance (1450-1600 AD) VIII. Modern Period (16th-17th Century) IX. British Empiricism (17th & 18th Century) X. Experimental Psychology (1800s to 1870s) XI. French Psychology (Late 18th to Early 19th Century) XII. Functionalism (19th Century ) Back to: Course Syllabus-Psy 20 0 Class Schedule-Psy 20 0 Lessons & Handouts – Psy 2 00 Related Learning Links – Psy 20 0 Related Readings-PSY 200 Discussion Forum – Psy 20 0 Related Link s

History & Evolution of Psychology Major Periods in World History Relative to the Evolution of the Field of Psychology Developed by psychology students-A. Jacobsen, R. Zartman, & H. Ashfaq Psychology evolved from philosophy, science, medicine and theology. Psychology evolved out of a coalescence of natural science and the branch of philosophy known as epistemology or the theory of knowledge. In the beginning, psychology was a 3-way synthesis of physics, physiology and mental philosophy. The roots of psychology go back to Egypt and the Egyptian mystery system. Early psychology focused on measuring and understanding the mind. Later psychology focused on measuring and understanding behavior. Observation and interpretation of data were the business of the philosopher. Beginning with the Ancient Greeks, philosophers learned a great deal about the world around them, and attempted to arrange their learning in an orderly way, and speculated on its meaning. As philosophers increased their knowledge, they developed specialties within the field of philosophy. Psychology was housed under philosophy as “Mental Philosophy” which was concerned with psychological principles. The other specialties under philosophy were “Natural Philosophy” which dealt with the areas of physics, chemistry and the natural sciences; and “Moral Philosophy” which dealt with the social sciences and ethical considerations. Once you become familiar with the history of psychology, you will see that psychology and knowledge in general has evolved as man has evolved – both in consciousness and intellect or knowledge. Psychology did not become an independent discipline separate from philosophy until the late 19th century. The search for knowledge was the quest of the early philosopher scientists – the desire to know, Psychology was interwoven in early science and philosophy.I. ANCIENT EGYPT (664BC-554BC) Egypt was known for its Egyptian Mystery System or set of secret doctrines, since knowledge was power in those days. Only the privileged few had access to knowledge and they kept this knowledge secret and passed most of it on in secret societies. The Egyptians are also reported to have been prolific writers, but few knew how to translate their writing system of Hieroglyphics and Coptic, It has only been in recent decades that Egyptologists were able to understand the early writings. A great philosophical text developed by an Egyptian scholar is The Kybalion – written by Hermes Trismegistus. It is considered the Hermetic philosophy of ancient Egypt and Greece. Trismegistus was known as the “scribe of the gods.” He was also known as the father of the occult wisdom, the founder of astrology and the discoverer of alchemy. The Egyptians deified Hermes, and made him one of their gods, under the name of Thoth. Years later, the people of Ancient Greece also made him one of their many gods, calling him “Hermes, the god of Wisdom.” The Kybalion is described as the fundamental and basic teachings embedded in the esoteric teachings of every race. It is claimed that even the most basic teachings in India, Persia, China, Japan, Assyria, and Rome; as well as other ancient countries, have their roots in the original hermetic teachings. The earliest scientific knowledge came from the Egyptians-although there exists almost no written records of their scientific contributions until recently with the work and study of Egyptologists and their success at understanding hieroglyphics, the ancient writing system of the Egyptians, along with Coptic writing. In most philosophy and history of psychology textbooks, you will see credit being given solely to the Greeks. Three such works that document through careful research and study the contributions of Egyptians to science and philosophy are: 1. Stolen Legacy by George G.M. James (1954). San Francisco: Julian Richardson Associates.2. From Ancient Africa to Ancient Greece: An Introduction to the History of Philosophy by Dr. Henry Olela (1981). Atlanta, GA: The Select Publishing Corporation.3. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (The Fabrication of Ancient Greece- 1785-1985, Volume 1 ), by Martin Bernal (1987). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. (See also related videos on this topic below: Videos ) According to the first two scholars, there is evidence that Egyptians laid the foundation for scientific knowledge. Further, they indicate that much of Greek knowledge was borrowed from Egypt; especially after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, and the seizure and looting of the Royal Library at Alexandria. According to Bernal (1987), Greece had a distinctive and mixed culture, with much learned and practiced from the Egyptians; and many lived in Greece with Egyptian ancestry. The Greek religion also is reported to have a largely Egyptian base. Further, it is known, that many of the early Greek philosophers studied in Egypt and brought back interpretations of their knowledge to Greece. Namely, Thales, (a physicist) who was the first to go into Egypt and bring back scientific knowledge into Greece. Also, Pythagoras, a pupil of Thales who studied in Egypt and Babylon. Pythagoras was a musician and mathematician. He studied for 34 years. Pythagoras like Euclid is given credit for what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem – first formulated by Thales. Therefore, the history of psychology begins with ancient Egypt. II. ANCIENT GREEK PERIOD (500BC-300BC) In Greek mythology there were four Ages of Man: The Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron (or Heroic) ages. The Gods and Goddesses were: Poseidon (Sea); Apollo (Sun); Hera & Zeus (Heaven); Athene (Wisdom); Hermes (Messenger); Artemis (Hunting); and, Aphrodite (Love). The early Greeks had a tremendous confidence in their superior ability for reasoning.They also used naturalistic observations to derive at theories and hypotheses. Their reasoning was called rationalism – the search for the essence of things. (Now known as the deductive method). They saw the world as a macrocosm and man as a microcosm, Among scientists contributing to psychology were: – Heraclitus – sought to discover the nature of knowledge and the essence of things. He believed all people possess “logos” or the ability to reason, but do not make use of it. He believed the key to understanding was introspection. – Thales – was the first known Greek philosopher, physicist and mathematician. He is credited with 5 theorems of geometry. He predicted an eclipse of the sun in 585 BC. He also concluded that water is the original substance from which all other things come-earth, air, and living things. His contributions to psychology were his discussion of the nature of matter. -Pythagoras was a pupil of Thales. He was a mathematician and philsopher and born on the Island of Samos. He died in southern Italy, then called Magna Graecia. Pythagoras was the son of a jeweler named Mnesarchus and his beautiful wife Pythais.He developed the label “philosopher” and was the first to call himself a philosoper-lover of knowledge. It happended one day, when Leon, tyrant of Philous, asked Pythagoras who he was and what he did for a living. He answered: “I am a philosopher,” thereby coining the word. He is given credit for the Pythagorean theory, although many other scholars are reported to have made the discovery before him. For Pythagoras, numbers had a spiritual meaning. Coming from Greece, where education consisted of music and gymnastics, where perfecting the body meant adherence to a rigorous diet and lifestyle, Pythagoras followed an orderly, ascetic lifestyle. Such orderly arrangements Pythagoras saw in human society as well as in the universe. Pythagoras believed the body was a container for the soul whose object was eventually to purify itself so it could become free of the body. Meanwhile, human shortcomings resulted in climbing backwards down what was called the evolutionary scale in each successive re-incarnation. – Democritus – Was a member of the school of thought called atomism, a theory that held that the things of the physical world were made up of an infinite number of absolute units called atoms. According to Democritus, being is as existent as non-being. Being is indivisible matter, the atom which cannot be split. Many atoms exist which are interconnected in various ways, obeying purely mechanical laws and forming miscellaneous beings that are known to us. All the things that we perceive are due to the interaction of these atoms with the sensory receptors. Democritus notions of the universe laid the foundation for progress in scientific research. He said: “similarity creates friendship.” -Alcmaeon – Was a physician. Investigated the basis for knowledge. Was the first to define the difference between man and animals, saying that man differs from the latter in the fact that he alone has the power of understanding. He recognized the brain as the seat of consciousness and called it the soul. He believed that the brain not only received perceptions of vision, audition, and olfaction, but was also the seat of thought. He performed dissections of human bodies for research purposes. He believed that health and disease are matters of equilibrium, with health being a balance and disease, a rupture of that balance. He developed the two aspect theory of the soul. -Hippocrates – Known as the father of ancient medicine. He developed the Hippocratic oath, which is still used by the medical profession today. He developed the theory of humors, which as a theory of disease was later expanded by Galen to include the impact on temperament. According to Hippocrates, a disease of an individual is a disturbance of the harmony of the elements as manifested in the humors. He agreed with Alcmaeon that cures depend on restoration of the disturbed harmony. The Hippocratic School was the first to relate brain to the conscious life in its entirety, including the emotions. -Socrates -Induction; One of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of antiquity. He devoted his life and work to moral philosophy and to the search for moral good, virtue and justice. The main method he used was dialectics (the method of seeking knowledge by question and answer) by which he tried to teach men how ignorant they were and to help them know themselves. His contribution to philosophy was highly significant, especially because in Socrates, it is not the heavenly bodies, earth, clouds, etc., that were of value but the universe of the human soul. He was found guilty, and sentenced to death, by a jury of his Athenian peers for corrupting the young and not acknowledging the gods of the city. -Plato – Wrote the Republic. Duality of the Psyche. Plato was author of some 31 philosophical dialogues, and founder, in 387, of the Academy, in Athens. He was considered one of the most significant thinkers of antiquity. Plato, despite his aristocratic origin and his parents’ plans for his political or petic career, devoted his life to philosophy, first as a devoted pupil of Socrates, and later by founding his own school of philosophy, the Academy. Plato held far-reaching views on the creation of the world, which have been preserved in the dialogue Timaeus, while his work the Republic, is perhaps the world’s most important political science text. Plato defined 3 aspects of the psyche- reason, feeling and appetite. He also wrote about the duality of the psyche and the relationship between mind and body. He believed the action of the humors of the body affects one’s mental state. Madness and ignorance for Plato were diseases of the mind brought about by the body. He also discussed sense perception. He believed that excessive pain and pleasure are the greatest diseases of the mind. He indicated that people in great joy or great pain cannot reason properly. Hence, sense perception, desire, feeling and appetite are products of the body and are at war with the mind. This is similar to Freud’s notions about the id, ego and superego. Plato also delved into the realms of neuroscience. He believed that the seat of the psyche and its aspects (reason, feeling and appetite) reside in the cerebrospinal marrow. The immortal (rational) aspect has a separate place in the brain; the mortal (irrational) aspects of feeling and appetite are located in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The heart serves as an advance post of the immortal part when wrong is committed; the heart can be stimulated to anger and these emotions (of anger) can be carried by the blood vessels to all parts of the body. He believed that the blood vessels serve as the means for conveying sensations through the body. He also believed that the psyche itself is immortal, but some of the functions it assumes when connected to the body are not (Watson, p.59). Plato used storytelling and literature to illustrate points about the psyche, as did Homer. In his story of the charioteer in Phaedrus, Plato likened the human being to a chariot team. ” there is a powerful, unrully horse intent on having its own way at all costs (appetite). The other horse is a thoroughbred, spirited but manageable (spirit). On catching sight of his beloved, the charioteer (reason) attempts with some difficulty to direct the two horses toward the goal, which he alone (not they) can comprehend.” (Watson, p.62) This is an illustration of Plato’s theory about conflict based on reason,emotion and drive. Plato also made early contributions to motivational psychology with his delineation of the drive characteristics of the psyche-that drives have a striving toward attainment of a goal and an affective coloring of pleasure and pain. In Plato’s Symposium, he presents a dialogue on the meaning of Eros or love, in which each participant offers their interpretations. He discusses 2 kinds of love: profane and sacred. The first is concerned with the body and the second with the psyche, mind and character. Physical sexual desire is not merely concerned with sex, but a masked deisre for parenthood, an attempt to perpetuate oneself. Plato believed this passion for physical parenthood was the most rudimentary fruition of the good and the eternal. He also believed that only higher love could lead to happiness. For Plato, the love of wisdom is the highest form of love. Love can be equated with life force, as it is akin to the biological will to live and the life energy. Many scholars have used Plato’s notions to draw conclusions about human nature. Freud’s notions about the personality being dependent on the id, ego and superego are similar to Plato’s 3 aspects of the psyche. Carl Jung’s notions about the libido and its general nonspecialized drive character seem to stem from the early drive theories of Plato. Evolutionary psychologists discuss humans’ need to reproduce copies of themselves and their gene pool. In the psychology of emotion and social psychology, psychologists have studied and outlined the different forms of love. Personality psychologists define the core form of energy residing in man, most frequently, as “psychic energy.” The field of energy medicine discusses the relationship of energy centers in the body to the mental state and nature of humans. -Aristotle – De Anima, first book to treat psychology as a systematic philosophy. Developed notions about the psyche. Founded philosophical psychology. Studied with Plato 20 years. After Plato’s nephew, Speusippus, is named the head of the Academy, Aristotle leaves Athens, but later returns, to found his own school, the Lyceum, in 335 BC. Although he, too, wrote philosophical dialogues, only a few fragments have come down to us. His surviving writings exist in the form of treatises. Was considered the father of modern scientific thought, he was also Alexander’s tutor. Aristotle was the greatest systematic philosopher of antiquity. He was the first to philosophise on the basis of science. Because of his great knowledge, especially in the physical sciences, he became known in history as a “panepistimon” or man of all sciences, Aristotle developed the dialectical method in logic, not in the Socratic sense of the dialogue but as a process consisting of thesis, antithesis and synthesis, which then becomes the new thesis. -Theophrastus – study of botany, treatise on physiological psychology (on the senses), a collection of personality sketches (characters); -Galen – influenced medicine with his theory of humors. Was a practitioner. Integrated anatomy and physiology. -Homer -(applied psychology). “Nothing is sweeter than home.” Is considered the greatest of the epic poets. Homer was a psycho-historian. Wrote two great epic masterpieces, the Iliad and the Odyssey. -Sophocles – “Tis not my nature to join in hating, but in loving.” A major tragic poet of the 5th century BC. The Athenian audiences responded enthusiastically to his emergence as his work was animated by serenity and was therefore most appropriate to meet the requirements of an audience enjoying the triumphs of Athens. He brought about many innovations in the art of dramaturgy. The Greeks regarded the soul as the source of consciousness and life. They developed a 2-aspect theory of the soul: 1) Thymos – aspect involved in thought and emotion and perishes with the body; and 2) Psyche – aspect considered immortal. Psychology was derived from this aspect. Early scientific and philosophical thought was primarily qualitative. Quantitative analyses were scarce-Thales, Euclid and Pythagoras used quantification. Reason and observation, unaided by instruments, were the methods by which the majority of the first scientific knowledge was derived. Two branches of Greek thought then contributed to the development of modern science: Cosmology and rationalism. a) Cosmology = the study of the universe or cosmos – how it originated, its structure and evolution. (Major contributor- Democritus (460-370 BC) postulated the atomic theory of the universe). b) Rationalism -used reason. Now known as the deductive method or the hypothetico-deductive methods, by means of which scientists attempt to postulate a rational set of assumptions to be tested by experiment. In summary, the Greeks recognized the significance of what has become four important stages in the scientific method: a) Naturalistic observation; b) Analysis and classification of natural phenomena into meaningful descriptive categories; c) Formulation of hypotheses of cause and effect on the basis of such analyses; and, d) Value of quantitative methods (Euclid and Pythagoras). III. GRAECO-ROMAN PERIOD (100BC-500AD) Wisdom for the conduct of life. Knowledge derived from the Greeks. Increased separation of science and philosophy. IV. HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN PERIODS (300-100 BC & 100BC-500AD) Progress made by men who stood in the shadow of Aristotle, e.g., Theophrastus (372 BC-) and Galen. Psychology was most advanced by Theophrastus. The Hellenistic period is often referred to as the twilight of Greek thinking, It is also the period in which a decline in intellectualism began in the Mediterranean and Alexandria. Psychology is still a branch of philosophy. Greek science extended over a period of 800 years. It began with the earliest philosopher/scientists of the sixth century BC and continued to the 2nd or 3rd century of the Christian era. Some of Aristotle’s students begin to make significant contributions to psychology (e.g., Theophrastus ). Greek scientific thought transmitted to the Arabs.V. THE PATRISTIC PERIOD (200AD-500AD) Known as the period of the church fathers-and devoted to the formation of Christian Orthodoxy. Influentials included Origen, Plotinus, and St. Augustine. The church and Christianity influenced psychology – especially the teachings of Jesus as taught to theologians by Origen. Period focused on dualism of mind and body and supernaturalism – or that which was beyond nature. Supernaturalism led a preoccupation with the world to come rather than the world as it exists. Important contributors include: -Plotinus – an Egyptian, who moved to Rome. He talked about a mystical reunion with the world soul and development of the individual toward perfection. -Augustine – Addressed unity and conflict. He was consulted on all psychological matters. He believed that a major source of knowledge of self was by means of reflection, a form of meditation by which we can come to know our soul. Augustine believed that miracles are simply unusual occurrences and require no more and no less explanation than any other event. If they were not rare, they would not cause surprise. VI. THE MIDDLE AGES (500AD-900AD) The early part of the period was referred to as the Dark Ages due to the halt of scientific advancement, misgovernment, civil wars, barbarian people, discord, and the dismantling of the monetary system. There was top heavy bureaucracies, civil wars, and barbarian peoples in some areas. The uniformity of Roman law gave way to a maze of discordant local customs. The universal monetary system of the Romans also disappeared. There were chaotic systems of government and low standards of living. Also, there was widespread illiteracy. Science and culture suffered during this period. In some areas religious scholarship survived. There were no psychological advance made during this period; and very little interest in Psychology. The works of Aristotle and Plato were even lost. Islam was developed during this period. Islam means “surrender to God.” The followers were known as Muslims. Sicily and Spain came under the domination of Islam. Hellenic civilization also merged into Muslim culture. The birth of Islam and the Muslim faith occurred in the middle part of the Middle Ages. Muslims assumed positions of leadership in government, the military and religious affairs. Universities did not come into real prominence until the 13th century. They came into being with the expansion of knowledge. For example, youth in the 11th century entered monasteries; youth in the 13th century attended universities. Universities began to emerge toward the latter part of the Middle Ages – the University of Bologna, University of Paris, Oxford and Cambridge Universities. The curricula included art, natural ethics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, law and medicine. During this period, Arabic scholars also had added valuable observations in medicine and had added a variety of new perspectives to philosophy. Translations included religious, philosophical, medical, science – such as optics, geology and math. Introduction of these texts and translations divided the middle ages into what can be known as 2 distinct periods: a) the early middle ages, without the benefits and knowledge; and, b) the later middle ages, with ancient knowledge and science restored. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the ” Summa Contra Theologica “, an introduction to Christian theology. (Click on the hyper link or go to lessons above to find an overview of the life and works of Aquinas), He was also author of commentaries on Aristotle and various books of the Bible. A reawakening of knowledge occurred in the late middle ages. VII. THE RENAISSANCE (1450-1800 AD) A period of general and literary enrichment. Also called the Age of Reason. This period was a scientific and philosophical movement which started in France and took hold in Britain and Germany. Its new ideas about human progress through science and reason strongly influenced the revolutionary leaders in America and France. Called the “Enlightenment,” or Age of Reason. Was a scientific and philosophical movement which started in France and took hold in Britain and Germany. Its new ideas about human progress through science and reason strongly influenced the revolutionary leaders in America and France. Scientists of the Enlightenment were very keen to find out about the world, nature, chemistry, and physics. Renaissance men were discovering ancient geography through translations of ancient manuscripts. There was development of a new education with a new curriculum. The field of psychology was broadened. Voyages and discoveries of the world took place ( Columbus, Diaz, daGama, and, the captains of Prince Henry the Navigator ). The world was enlarged. This period included such scholars as: Leonardo da Vinci – – an artist, engineer and geologist, painted the famous Mona Lisa ; Linnaeus -founded modern botany and zoology and classified plants and animals into groups; Lavoisier – proved that air consists of oxygen and nitrogen and also made the first table of chemical elements; Benjamin Franklin was both a statesman and a man of science. He studied electricity and used a key on a kite string to act as a lightning conductor; he also invented a stove and bifocal glasses; Mozart was a child genius and the most brilliant composer of his day. Scheele discovered oxygen; Cavendish discovered hydrogen; Rutherford discovered nitrogen; Fahrenheit invented a mercury thermometer, Celsius invented a centigrade thermometer; Luigi Galvani discovered contact electricity. Also the French Montgolfier brothers made the first ascent in a hot-air balloon. The Romantic movement followed the Enlightenment, and it affected revolutionary politics in Europe as well as its arts. Two leading figures in the movement were the composer Beethoven and Goethe, the poet. Descartes made significant contributions bordering the Renaissance period and the modern period. He decided that the point of interchange between the mind and body is the pineal gland, located at the base of the cerebrum. He also described in detail, the nervous system and was considered the father of modern philosophy by existentialists. Descartes also was considered a leader in the development of mathematics, and laid the foundation for analytic geometry and contributed to modern algebra. Was author of: The Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One’s Reason; Searching Truth in the Sciences ; and the Meditations on First Philosophy. VIII. MODERN PERIOD (16TH-17TH Century) The emphasis was on methodology, science and mathematics. Also know as the “Scientific Revolution.” Influential scientists included Sir Francis Bacon, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, William Harvey, Napier. Sir Francis Bacon was one of the first men to study nature by using scientific observation. Developed an empirical methodology and inductive reasoning. It is reported that he translated the first King James version of the Bible and was the true writer of Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature. Was considered the first English essayist. It is also reported that he secretly laid the groundwork for the establishment of the United States of America. -In his works Novum Organum, Advancement of Learning, and New Atlantis, Bacon outlined his views of what science should become. He proposed drastic changes in scientific procedure. -He died from a chill after stuffing a fowl with snow. He was studying refrigeration. Galileo was the first to turn a telescope to the skies to map the galaxy. He provided evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe, but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo also observed the moon’s “seas” and mountains, the planets and the stars of the Milky Way. His studies included the laws of “falling bodies” using experiments and mathematics. He studied the pendulum and designed a clock. William Harvey conducted experiments and microscopic observations that proved that the blood circulates around the body. Isaac Newton, laid the foundations of modern science. He worked on mathematical calculus, light and gravity and invented his own reflecting telescope. He worked out laws on gravity and how things move, using observation and mathematics. He found out that white light was made up of a rainbow, or “spectrum,” of colored light. Napier, a Scottish mathematician invented logarithms. He invented a calculating system using rods of bone. IX. BRITISH EMPIRICISM (17th & 18th Century) Empiricism became a viable alternative to rationalism. Focused primarily on associationism – the ways in which mental events are connected. They accepted the Baconian proposition that science must start from observations that are collected carefully and from which cautious generalizations are made. Empiricism places the origin of mind in sensation and explains the higher mental processes such as memory, thinking and imagination as complexes of persistent impressions held together by associations. Associations exist due to certain conditions that were present at the time of the impression such as repetition and contiguity. They believed that mind is built from sensory experiences (sense); these experiences provide elemental ideas or memories which come together to form complex ideas by virtue of association. Thus, the field of psychology was becoming more empirical and moving away from rationalism during the British empirical system. Some noted scientists included: – Thomas Hobbes- 1588-1679- first British empiricist. He explained memory and imagination as decaying sense impressions held together by association; – John Locke- 1632-1704 – extended Hobbes principles, developed the first completely worked out empirical theory of knowledge and Tabula Rasa – the mind is blank at birth; – George Berkeley-1685-1753- talked about mentalism-that mental aspects of life are paramount and that only reality is mind. He developed a theory of vision and depth and space perception; – David Hume (1711-1776) – the mind is only a name given to the flow of ideas, memories, imagination and feelings. Published Treatise on Human Nature and An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding; – David Hartley- 1705-1757 – Considered physiology and psychology to be associational. Published Observations of Man in 1749 and believed in tabula rasa-the mind is blank at birth; – James and John Stuart Mills – sensation and ideas are primary material of the mind. – James Mills (1773-1836) – considered the greatest associationist; believed that sensations and ideas are primary material of the mind. He wrote Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind, – John Stuart Mills (1806-1873) – wrote Logic ; believed that the “whole is more than the sum of its parts. ” Elements may generate complex ideas, but the ideas generated are not merely the sum of the individual parts.X. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY (1800s TO 1870s) Advanced initially by German psychologists (Wundt and others). They believed that an experiment was a way of testing a theory. Instead of passively observing nature, experimenters actively interfere in natural phenomena. The goal of an experiment is to put nature to question. During this period great strides were being made in the understanding of the nervous system. Physiologists were moving closer to psychology. This was the beginning of the development of physiological psychology. Physiology became an experimental discipline in the 1830s. Physiology emerging in the 19th century influenced psychologists to turn their attention to searching for neural mechanisms underlying behavior. This was the beginning of the development of neurology and brain functioning. This was the beginning of the development of psychophysics. Many of the Americans interested in psychology studied in Germany with the German psychologists; among them William James and Edward Titchener. XI. FRENCH PSYCHOLOGY (Late 18th to Early 19th Century) Advanced the study of Psychopathology and Intelligence. Just before the beginning of the 19th century, France became the first country to begin to develop adequate care for the insane and the feeble-minded. French psychologists focused on psychopathological behavior. Contributed to the development of pathological psychology. Included scientists such as: – Jean Itard – 1775-1838- began work with the feebleminded. Was the pioneer in the systematic study of mental deficiency; – Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) – began work on ” mesmerism” or “animal magnetism” -now known as hypnosis ); – Jean Charcot (1825-1893) – often referred to as the father of neurology ; Sigmund Freud was a pupil of Charcot and lived and studied with him in France for a while; – Alfred Binet – studied intelligence and constructed the first intelligence test. XII. FUNCTIONALISM IN AMERICA (19th Century) Considered the first truly American system of psychology. William James called the founder of modern psychology. Developed a functional psychology which included the study of consciousness. Was considered the leading American forerunner of functionalism, with his 2-volume work, The Principles of Psychology, (1890). His functional psychology included the study of consciousness as an ongoing process or stream. The focus was on the study of mind and the function of thought. Functionalism’s primary interest was the study of mind as it functions in adapting the organism to its environment. Today’s psychology is said to be functionalistic because of its emphasis on learning, intelligence, testing, perception and other functional processes. Other Psychologists Contributions to Psychology Worldwide Please download here: Overview of Great Psychologists Worldwide-A Historical Chronology. This handout includes other psychologists from other parts of the world that have also made a contribution to the discipline of psychology. Historical_Chronology_of_Psychological_Science_Worldwide-King.pdf References Bernal, Martin (1987). Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (The Fabrication of Ancient Greece-1785-1985, Volume 1). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. James, George G.M. (1954). Stolen Legacy. San Francisco: Julian Richardson Associates. Olela, Henry (1981). From Ancient Africa to Ancient Greece: An Introduction to the History of Philosophy. Atlanta, GA: The Select Publishing Corporation. Sahakian, William S. History and Systems of Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1975. Watson, Robert I. and Rand B. Evans. (1991). The Great Psychologists: A History of Psychological Thought. Harper Collins Publishers. Written by Rosalyn M. King, Ed.D.- All Rights Reserved-King’s Psychology Network RELATED LEARNING LINKS Ancient Egypt gave rise to one of the world’s oldest Christian faiths Christianitys origins are found in many places,including Egypt,where Coptic Christianity flourished shortlyafter the death of Jesus. Aristotle On his life and works. Aristotle-Ethics An online Cliffs Notes detailing Aristotle’s book on ethics. Aristotle-On Dreams Written in 350 B.C.E. and translated by J.I. Beare Aristotle-The Doctrine of the Mean Writings of Aristotle on Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle-The Four Causes On Physics. Charles Darwin: The Complete Works Charles Darwin-Bio and Video George Berkeley Heraclitus On the life and works of Heraclitus. Hipprocrates His writings online. Hippocratic Oath The Hippocratic Oath (OrkoV) is perhaps the most widely known of Greek medical texts. It requires a new physician to swear upon a number of healing gods that he will uphold a number of professional ethical standards. History and Philosophy of Psychology Many resources on the history and philosophy of psychology. On Francis Bacon A historical analysis of Francis Bacon. Origen On the life and works of Origen. Plato and the Republic On the teachings of Plato. Plato: The Allegory of the Cave-The Divided Line From the writings of Plato’s The Republic, Book 6. Plato: The Apology of Socrates Plato: The Character of Democracy From the writings of Plato’s The Republic, Book 8 Sir Francis Bacon-Bio Sir Francis Bacon-First Book of Aphorisms Sir Francis Bacon’s New Advancement of Learning An extensive site on the life and work of Bacon, including the belief that he was the son of Queen Elizabeth I and speculated author of Shakespeare’s writings. Sir Francis Bacon-Preface to the Novum Organum Bacon’s work on true suggestions for the interpretation of nature. Sir Francis Bacon-The New Atlantis Bacon’s treatise on an ideal commonwealth. Sir Francis Galton Developed notions about hereditary genius. Sir Francis Galton-Bio Sir Isaac Newton Bios and videos. Socrates On the contributions of Socrates. Sophocles The Alchemy Web Site Read about the alchemical work of Francis Bacon and others. Theophrastus Overview of his life and works. Theophrastus-Characters The online text of the Characters of Theophrastus. Theophrastus Project Featuring the works of Theophrastus by the Classics Department at Rutgers University. VIDEOS Cheikh Anta Diop: The African Origin Dr. Ivan Van Sertima: They Came Before Columbus Dr. Asa Hilliard & Samuel Matthews: Stolen Legacy Socrates Plato

How did the object of study in psychology change over the history of the field since the 19th century?

How did the object of study in psychology change over the history of the field since the 19th century? In its early days, psychology could be defined as the scientific study of mind or mental processes. Over time, psychology began to shift more towards the scientific study of behavior.

How did psychology develop into a modern science?

Introduction – In this paper, I intend to analyze how the relationship of developmental psychology to general psychology and cognitive science has unfolded. This historical analysis will provide a background for a critical examination of the present state of the art.

Psychology emerged as a scientific discipline with the founding of Wundt’s Laboratory in Leipzig at the end of the nineteenth century (1879) 1, Wundt’s method, both experimental and introspective, was directed to the study of an adult’s mind and behavior. It is less well-known that only 10 years later, James Baldwin, who had attended Wundt’s seminars in Germany, founded a laboratory of experimental psychology in Toronto in which experiments devoted to the study of mental development were performed.

If the occasion that aroused Baldwin’s interest was the birth of his first daughter, actually, “that interest in the problems of genesis–origin, development, evolution–became prominent; the interest which was to show itself in all the subsequent years” ( Baldwin, 1930 ).

Baldwin’s work was a source of inspiration for Piaget, certainly one of the most prominent figures in developmental psychology ( Morgan and Harris, 2015 ). From the origins of psychology as a discipline, general psychology and developmental psychology have followed parallel and relatively separate paths.

Two questions are particularly relevant to explain this fact. From a theoretical point of view, developmental psychology has all along been greatly influenced by biology and evolutionary theory. The founders of developmental psychology have widely analyzed the relation between ontogenesis and phylogenesis ( Baldwin, 1895 ; Piaget, 1928 ).

This analysis resulted in accepting the challenge of explaining development in a broad sense. In his autobiography, Baldwin affirms that already in the 10 years that he spent in Princeton between 1893 and 1903, where he founded another laboratory of experimental psychology, “the new interest in genetic psychology and general biology had become absorbing, and the meagerness of the results of the psychological laboratories (apart from direct work on sensation and movement) was becoming evident everywhere.” Thus, developmental psychology has followed an approach that in general psychology appeared much later 2,

A second question regards method. Developmental researchers, while manifesting their attachment to experimental procedures, have been confronted with their insufficiency in the study of development. Both for deontological and practical reasons, many aspects of development, in particular in infants and young children, can hardly be investigated experimentally.

Thus, a great number of studies in developmental psychology make use of observational methods based on different techniques such as ethnographic methods or parent reports, and the reliability of these methods has been questioned. This relative separation between studies of adults and children has also persisted with the emergence of cognitive science.

Actually, the primary aim of cognitive science, at least at the outset, was to model what we could call an adult static mind. Given a certain output, for instance an action, the task of the psychologist was to reconstruct the inference processes that were at the origin of this same action.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, psychology and cognitive science have enlarged their scope to include change processes and the interaction between mind and environment, including other minds. Developmental psychology, for its part, has developed nonverbal methods such as looking measures and choice measures that also make it possible to carry out experiments with infants.

These facts have paved the way for new possibilities of convergence, which are eliciting interesting results, despite a number of ongoing problems related to methods.

How has the study of psychology changed since the 19th century?

Central Controversies – What does psychology study? The Cartesian paradigm gave one answer: Psychology is the study of consciousness, and the first psychologists defined psychology as the science of consciousness. They claimed a fixed subject matter, consciousness, and a unique method, introspection, for examining it.

• However, no science of human nature could completely avoid studying what people do.
• In Germany, Immanuel Kant proposed a science of behavior called anthropology, and in Britain, John Stuart Mill proposed a similar science called ethology.
• As the human sciences sorted themselves out in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, psychology gradually extended its scope to include everything about human beings as individuals, adding the studies of individual behavior and individual differences to the study of consciousness.

The other human sciences came to focus on human society (sociology), culture (anthropology), and history. Read more about Central Controversies,

Is Sigmund Freud the father of modern psychology?

Home > < Learn About Therapy > Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Sigmund Freud was a late 19th and early 20th century neurologist. He is widely acknowledged as the father of modern psychology and the primary developer of the process of psychoanalysis,

Is Sigmund Freud the father of modern psychotherapy?

Psychology’s most famous figure is also one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th century. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, is often referred to as the “father of modern psychology.” Freud revolutionized how we think about and treat mental health conditions.

1. Freud founded psychoanalysis as a way of listening to patients and better understanding how their minds work.
2. Psychoanalysis continues to have an enormous influence on modern psychology and psychiatry.
3. Sigmund Freud’s theories and work helped shape current views of dreams, childhood, personality, memory, sexuality, and therapy.

Freud’s work also laid the foundation for many other theorists to formulate ideas, while others developed new theories in opposition to his ideas.

Is the father of modern psychology is Wilhelm Wundt?

Wilhelm Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879. This was the first laboratory dedicated to psychology, and its opening is usually thought of as the beginning of modern psychology. Indeed, Wundt is often regarded as the father of psychology.

Is Freud the father of psychology?

Freud and penis envy – a failure of courage? | BPS Regarded as the father of psychology, Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis and one of the most influential doctors of the 20th century. He introduced new theories, changed the way people thought and left an impact on the field of psychology seen even in the 21st century.

• But along with his theories of the unconscious, and the development of therapeutic techniques, he was also notorious for controversial concepts Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex was based on the belief that young children experienced an unconscious desire for their opposite-sex parent.
• It was considered a necessary part of the phallic stage of psychosexual development (between three to five years of age), and Freud believed it could lead to paedophilia if not resolved in time.

The Oedipus complex was taken as the ‘physical reproduction of patriarchy’, and as leading to the different sexual roles in our society today. Freud also had controversial views on women, believing that their lives were dominated by sexual reproductive functions.

• He even wrote, in 1925’s ‘The Psychical Consequences of the Anatomic Distinction Between the Sexes’ that ‘women oppose change, receive passively, and add nothing of their own’.
• To Freud, women were simply men without penises (Cohler & Galatzer-Levy, 2008), so naturally he introduced a stage of ‘penis envy’ – where a woman realises she does not possess a penis, and experiences an envy of the male, which accounted for much of female behaviour.

Freud claimed that the only way they could overcome this penis envy was to have a child of their own – even going as far as to suggest they wanted a male child, in their efforts to gain a penis. His theory was unfairly based on a model where there was no place for femininity unless directly related to masculinity.

• Women were viewed as forever feeling morally inferior to men, who were said to have more developed superegos than women.
• This, according to Freud, was a problem that could never be resolved.
• Helene Deutsch was first woman to join Freud’s Vienna Psychoanalytic Society in 1918, having published the first psychoanalytic book on women’s sexuality.

She was one of his pupils, and built upon his theories in her study of woman’s psychological development, believing that women had a ‘passive-masochistic sexuality’, and were born only for reproduction. According to her, a young girl’s lack of penis meant she stopped identifying with her father and went on to develop fantasies of being raped.

• Deutsch believed that the ‘rape fantasy’ was an integral part of female sexuality, and with this the idea of a woman’s personality being determined by her lack of penis was strongly reinforced in society.
• In his own time, Freud’s concept of penis envy was criticised by psychoanalyst Karen Horney.
• Her critiques actually led to the formation of feminist psychology, and she introduced the idea that men were affected by their inability to bear children, calling it ‘womb envy’.

She explained that men felt envious of the ‘biological functions of the female sex’ (like breastfeeding, pregnancy), calling it ‘males striving for achievement as overcompensation’ (Linda Brannon, in her book Gender: Psychological Perspectives). Horney reasoned that Freud’s theory of penis envy made more sense when it was taken as a metaphor; penis envy was a symbolic longing for the social prestige and position that men experience.

Thus, women felt inferior because of the freedom and social status they lacked because of their gender, not because of their literal lack of the phallus. Freud responded to her, writing: ‘We shall not be very greatly surprised if a woman analyst who has not been sufficiently convinced of the intensity of her own wish for a penis also fails to attach proper importance to that factor in her patients.’ According to Freud, Horney’s development of concept of womb envy was rooted in the penis envy she herself experienced.

Fifty years after Freud, feminist theorist Jessica Benjamin released A Desire of One’s Own (1986), where she wrote of how the Oedipus complex only encouraged the patriarchal hierarchy. She further wrote on how penis envy was not because of the lack of phallus as Freud described, but because of socio-cultural reasons – making it an irrelevant part of female sexuality.

Horney and Benjamin’s take on penis envy perhaps makes a lot more sense than Freud’s ideas in the 21st century. As proposed by Clara Thompson in a 1943 paper, social envy – ‘a sociological response to female subordination under patriarchy’ is more suitable. It’s understandable how women might feel envious of the power and prestige men have in most societies around the world.

From sexualised comments on the street to a 10 per cent wage gap, men still tend to be in positions of dominance. A large number of psychologists spoke out against Freud, but the concept of penis envy had been created and the damage done. But beyond a slightly silly theory with some symbolic use if not taken too literally, was there a more insidious impact? Was penis envy an escape route for abusers that affects us even today? Salvaging his career? Hysteria, defined as ungovernable emotional excess, originated from the Greek word for uterus, hystera.

1. It was a disease attributed only to women.
2. Symptoms included nervousness, hallucinations and most of all, emotional outbursts.
3. Freud treated hysterical women by talking to them, and concluded that psychological trauma and hereditary predisposition caused hysteria.
4. During his 1900 study of a patient, Dora, she alleged that she had been molested as a child by a family friend, only to have Freud dismiss her claims and suggest she imagined the advances.

Freud had actually started off as a supporter of the oppressed, initially working on the effects of trauma and bringing to light the sexual abuse that went on in families. He believed that sexual abuse in childhood was responsible for many of his patients’ neuroses and other mental health problems, and Freud was the first psychiatrist to believe his patients were telling the truth.

His early papers in the 1890s embraced the mechanism of dissociation, and he gave a speech called ‘The Etiology of Hysteria’, in April of 1896. Freud strongly believed his ‘Seduction theory’, and wrote in letters to close friends about the autopsies where he’d seen something ‘of which medical science preferred to take no notice’ – bodies of children that had been raped and murdered.

Unfortunately, his colleagues maintained that a child’s report of sexual abuse was a symptom of pseudologica phantastica – a pathological fiction or fantasy. They were appalled at Freud’s ideas, and choosing to save his career and reputation, Freud chose to follow suit in dismissing the victims’ claims.

1. This was what prompted him to introduce the ‘Oedipus complex’ and penis envy as an explanation for patients ‘fantasising’ their rape.
2. There are several theories as to why Freud abandoned his initial claims, ranging from denial of his own personal experiences, attempts to salvage his career after the speech in 1896 or the knowledge that in a society where so many influential people were abusers, his claims would go unheard.

His decision was later called a ‘failure of courage rather than a clinical or theoretical insight’ by psychoanalyst Jeffrey M. Masson. Close to home In 1897 Sigmund Freud had carried out a self-analysis, making himself his 19th patient. He reached the conclusion that he and his siblings all showed the same symptoms of hysteria – which implied that they too, had experienced sexual abuse as a child.

The idea was unthinkable, and it is speculated that Freud declared his patients’ stories as fantasies to protect his own family. Florence Rush, in her 1980 book The Best Kept Secret, wrote that Freud clearly avoided blaming fathers at all costs. In his cases the abusers were sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and even governesses, but never fathers, even going as far as to incorrectly publish an article blaming a 14-year-old’s uncle as the one who molested her, but revealing decades later that it was in fact her father.

Masson also believed that Freud’s decision was influenced by abusers he knew personally. One of his closest friends, Fliess, was suspected of having molested his own son. Freud would often confide in Fliess, sending him letters discussing how he believed that hysteria, or psychological disturbances were a result of sexual abuse.

• Upon realising that Fliess himself was guilty of such abuse, Freud felt forced to give up his theories and evidence.
• In her book, Rush wrote ‘the world listened to Freud and paid little heed to the sexual abuse of the young’ (p.96).
• Masson backed her up, arguing in 1985’s Assault on Truth that ‘Freud knew about child abuse and its destructive consequences but suppressed the information and attributed memories of rape to fantasy’.

In his desperate attempts to salvage his career and gain popularity, Freud had normalised the despicable practice of adults ‘initiating’ children into sex, and paved the way for not only a major setback to the feminist movement of that time, but also the field of psychology for years to come.

• His dismissal of females and their ‘hysteria’ (a cover-up for the PTSD they suffered) led to gaps in research of PTSD and other traumas, which would go on to affect the soldiers of WW1.
• As a book reviewer in New Scientist said, ‘ excommunicated anyone whowanted to criticise parents He set back our understanding of child abuse by a hundred years’ (27 April 1996, p.49).

Others joined the criticism of what they called ‘the Freudian cover-up’. Florence Rush, a social worker in the 1970s, exposed Freud’s reluctance to reveal the offenders, as they were not only seen as respectable men in society but also his own friends.

1. Victorian men were thus able to hide their illegal and immoral sex practices.
2. Freud, she believed, only demanded that the sex be practised with utmost discretion to ensure that the ‘surface of Victorian respectability’ was in no way disturbed.
3. Any attempt to expose the violator only exposed the victim’s own alleged sexual motives, stigmatising them further; ‘concealment was their only recourse’.

In 1971 Rush presented a paper on child sexual abuse at the New York Radical Feminist Conference. She argued that child sexual abuse was a symptom of institutionalised patriarchy, of female powerlessness, and of mainstream family structures which we are ‘encouraged to uphold no matter how often we witness the devastatingly harmful effects of this arrangement on women and children’ (Satter, 2003, p.454).

Rush inspired a number of feminists like Susan Brownmiller (1975) and Louise Armstrong (1978). They tried to make the public realise how the silence and stigma around child sexual abuse was a defence of gender privilege and hierarchy (Olafson et al., 1993). Even today, stigma still surrounds the traumatised, with victims often believing that they deserved, wanted or imagined their abuse.

The dismissal and blatant lack of acknowledgement of traumatic violence remains, and may do so as long as it is supported by Freud’s legacy. – Riya Yadav is a Year 12 student in Delhi studying for her AS-levels and with an ambition to become a psychologist Key sources Benjamin, J.

• 1986). A desire of one’s own: Psychoanalytic feminism and intersubjective space. In T.
• De Lauretis (Ed.) Feminist studies/critical studies: Language, discourse, society.
• London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Brannon, L. (1996).
• Gender: Psychological perspectives.
• Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Freud, S. (1925).
• Some psychical consequences of the anatomical distinction between the sexes.

SE 19, 243–258. Masson, J.M. (1984). The assault on truth: Freud’s suppression of the seduction theory. London: Faber & Faber. Olafson, E., Corwin, D.L. & Summit, R.C. (1993). Modern history of child sexual abuse awareness: Cycles of discovery and suppression.