Scribd
Upload
16 views5 pages

History of Psychology-1

Uploaded by

asadamir9899
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
16 views5 pages

History of Psychology-1

Uploaded by

asadamir9899
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

History of Psychology

 Introduction
Rudolf Goeckel used the term of “psychology”.This word is the combination of two Greek
words “psyche ” and “logos. ”

Statement:
The scientific study of mind and behavior is called “Psychology”

 Historical Background
“Psychology has long past ,but only a short history”
The growth of psychology builds on the philosophical questions of the ancients to the current
day as the science of behavior. We describe below the important events and personalities in the
development of the domain:

 Ancient Foundations (400 BCE – 1700s)


1. Ancient Greece: During ancient Rome, the mind and psyche became subjects of
concern for philosophers. Say, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle brought such issues as the
mind-body relation at the forefront. Plato sustained that there are inborn propositions in a
human mind and mind and body are separate (dualist position) while Aristotle encouraged
observation and alleged people’s minds to be “tabula rasa”.

2. Middle Ages: The origins of the self, soul and the relation of such to the mind as well
as the mind to feeling were connected to the Christian Bible. Human philosophy on
human beings got an extra addition by St. Augustine of Hippos who would worry about
the bible and reason.

 Medieval Europe : During the Middle Ages , mental illness was often associated with
supernatural causes , though some early physicians ,such as those in monasteries ,
began to treat it more humanely .
 Islamic Scholar: Thinker like Avicenna (Ibn Sina) in the Islamic Golden Age wrote
extensively on psychology and medinices , studying of emotions , perception and cognition
impact mental health and advocating for compassion in treatment .

 Renaissance (14th-17th centuries):


Deeper understanding of human anatomy, and organs functions as well as resulting
philosophy served as stock reserves of psychological insights. Henri Descartes who was an
advocate of mind-body dualism and John Locke who believed in experience based knowledge
were amongst the speculative forces Psychology as a Science and Profession: 19th Century

 Psychology as a formal discipline (1800s)


1. Physiological psychology: The biological revolution in psychology continued into the
nineteenth century. German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) created
the psychology of the senses and measured how fast neural impulses proceeded in the
body. Johannes Müller, another German physiologist, extended Helmholtz’s work
focusing on how the central nervous system receives, interprets, and processes
information.

2. Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920): In modern times, Wilhelm Wundt is often recognized as
the first psychologist. Wundt opened the first experimental laboratory of psychology in
Leipzig, in 1879 ;his influence was widespread initially in Germany ;but his spread
quickly to Britain and the United State . He was the father of structuralism which aimed
at analytical introspection of individual’s thought processes, to comprehend them in
simplest forms of measures, and to investigate them piece by piece.

3. William James (1842 – 1910): James wrote The Principles of Psychology in 1890. His
influence on American Psychology cannot be overestimated in that he actively developed
functionalism, which studied how consciousness and behavior influenced real-time
actions. James revived interest in behavioral psychology among scientists of his era by
emphasizing functional aspects and the importance of consciousness.
4. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939): Freud was able to establish psychoanalysis, theories of
personality, and therapeutic practice that focused on an individual’s unconscious mind
while incorporating trauma received during the first few years of life.

 Early 20th Century: Competing Schools of Thought


1. Behaviorism: Other American psychologists, such as Watson and later Skinner,
proposed behaviorism as an alternative approach. Watson argued for the importance of
observing behaviors and completely rejected psychometric methods. Behaviorists
embraced the theory that all activities of an organism are the result of environment
interaction.

2. Gestalt Psychology: Such psychologists as Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and


Wolfgang Köhler in Germany proposed that psychological phenomena cannot be
separated into different aspects and should be taken in their entirety. This view affected
contemporary cognitive psychology.

3. Humanistic Psychology: Humanistic psychology originated in mid-20th-century


America as a reaction against both behaviorism and psychoanalyst traditions, arguing
about the innate worth of the individual and the capacity of each person to self-actualize
and possess subjective experiences. Important personalities were Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow (famous for the hierarchy of needs).

 Mid-to-Late 20th Century: Cognitive Revolution and Beyond


Potential
1. Cognitive Psychology: In the1950s and 1960s ,there was a shift back to studying internal
mental processes such as perception, memory and problem–solving. The work of
psychologists like Jean Piaget (developmental psychology), Noam Chomsky
(language),and Ulric Neisser helped establish cognitive psychology as one of the
dominant psychological perspectives.

2. Biological Psychology: The 20th century saw an increase in knowledge about the
structure and function of the brain thanks to the widespread adoption of neuroimaging
technologies. One of the objectives driving biological psychologists, the interaction
between mind and behavior underwent renewed attention and interest.

3. Cultural and Social Psychology: Culturally and socially also, the interest shifted
towards the linguistics and interactions of the related constituents. Towards the latter part
of the 20th century Carl Rogers echo of the ‘I’ of the self and Leon Festinger and Stanley
Milgram saw the deeds of others through the notion of conformity, and the situation of
Vygotsky’s theory in the socio-cultural direction has shown importance.

 Modern Psychology (21st Century)


Today, psychology is a complex discipline that is made up of several branches including clinical,
cognitive, neuro, developmental, social psychology and so on.

Contemporary psychology perspectives are often pluralistic too. It is common for biological,
cognitive and social perspectives to be combined in order to explain the behavior. New methods
for studying the workings of the mind and behavior have been made possible due to the
breakthroughs in the fields of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.

Conclusion

Psychology as it developed over time has showcased a gradual step towards a more scientific
way of exploring the mind and behavior, moving from the musings of philosophers to an
empirical science. Thanks to the repetitive endeavors of its early pioneers and the formation of
different currents within it, psychology has today become a vast and more so an integrative
branch applicable in medicine, education, business, among other fields.

You might also like