Development of Psychology as a Science

The field of psychology started in the mid-1800s by defining itself as "the science

of consciousness." By the 1920s psychologists were more likely to define their

field as "the science of behavior." Behaviorists argued that a truly scientific

psychologist should report only the data that is actually observed: behavior.

Although this would appear to constrict the subject matter of psychology by

leaving out the mind, Hilgard pointed out that behavioral methods broadened

psychology. They encouraging psychologists to study those who could not make

introspective reports, such as animals and children.

The behavioral era dominated psychology in the United States from the 1920s

through the 1950s. Partly as a reaction to behaviorism's neglect of subjective

mental processes, humanistic psychology emerged as an alternative approach

during the early 1960s.

Computer technology led to the resurgence of cognitive psychology in the 1970s.

Computers provided a new metaphor for discussing mental processing and new

tools for doing research on human information processing. Another change in the

1970s and 1980s was the emergence of neuroscience as an important source of

information about behavior and mental processes. Today, the different approaches
to psychology coexist. Each provides a useful perspective, and they are often

combined when more than one approach is relevant to a topic.

Schools of Thought in Psychology

There are many schools of thought that developed during the early years of

the twentieth century but we shall take up only the ones that greatly influenced the

present-day psychology.

Structuralism

Edward Bradford Titchener developed structuralism based on the concepts

of his mentor Wilhelm Wundt. The followers of Titchener were called

structuralists because they analyzed conscious experiences into its elements,

namely: sensation, images, and affective states. These elements they called the

structures of conscious experience. The method of study used was called

introspection, a process of self-observation. In introspection, the researcher reports

his own observation of himself. Many people questioned the validity and accuracy

of the findings because the process is very subjective. It then paved the way for a

new school of thought to emerge.

Functionalism
 Functionalism emerges toward the middle of 1850’s through the effort of a

group of American Psychologists. Most prominent of whom were William James

and John Dewey. They redefined psychology as the study of the mind as it

functions in adapting the organism to its environment. They studied consciousness

as an ongoing process or stream instead of reducing it into elements. William

James also argued that the proper subject mater of psychology was the study of the

organism functioning as a whole in his environment. The method used by

functionalists was objective observation and little of introspection.

Behaviorism

While Functionalism was developing and structuralism was on its height, a

revolution against the two was already in the mind of John Broadus Watson. He

expressed dissatisfaction in the methods used. He instead advocated the use of

objective experimental observation. He said the behavior and the behavioral acts

are to be described objectively in terms of stimulus response, habit formation, and

habit integration. Watson took the position that all behavior represents learned

responses to particular environmental stimuli.

Other educators who influenced behaviorism were Edward Lee Thomdike

who used trial-error learning and B.F. Skinner who used rewards and punishments
in shaping a behavior. The behaviorist technique has proven useful in the treatment

of psychological disorders.

Gestalt Psychology

While behaviorism was talking its roots in America, another school of

thought emerged in Germany. This new school questioned the analysis of

consciousness or behavior in the way the structuralists and behaviorists did. Gestalt

psychology was developed by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt

Koffka. Gestalt is a German word which means form, shape, or configuration. The

greatest contributions of Gestalt are in perception and learning. They emphasized

learning by whole rather than by parts. The method used is called phenomenology.

Gestalt psychology became useful in teaching-learning situations.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is not really a school of psychology because it did not

concern itself with learning, sensation, attention, perception, and the other areas

that preoccupied the previous schools of thought. It developed from the study and

treatment of mental patients suffering from psychological disorders. The methods

used were free association, dream analysis, and projective techniques. This

movement started in Vienna under the leadership of Sigmund Freud, an Austrian

physician specializing in diseases of the nervous system. Psychoanalysis is

responsible for the attention given to unconscious motivation and child

development.

Perspectives in Psychology

There are various different approaches in contemporary psychology.

An approach is a perspective (i.e. view) that involves certain assumptions (i.e.

beliefs) about human behavior: the way they function, which aspects of them are

worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this

study. There may be several different theories within an approach, but they all

share these common assumptions.

You may wonder why there are so many different psychology perspectives and

whether one approach is correct and others wrong. Most psychologists would

agree that no one perspective is correct, although in the past, in the early days of

psychology, the behaviorist would have said their perspective was the only truly

scientific one.

Each perspective has its strengths and weaknesses, and brings something different

to our understanding of human behavior. For this reason, it is important that

psychology does have different perspectives to the understanding and study of

human and animal behavior.

Below is a brief summary of the six main psychological approaches (sometimes

called perspectives) in psychology.

Behaviorial Perspective

Behavioral psychology is a perspective that focuses on learned behaviors.

Behaviorism differed from many other perspectives because instead of

emphasizing internal states, it focused solely on observable behaviors.

While this school of thought dominated psychology early in the twentieth century,

it began to lose its hold during the 1950s. Today, the behavioral perspective is still

concerned with how behaviors are learned and reinforced. Behavioral principles

are often applied in mental health settings, where therapists and counselors use

these techniques to explain and treat a variety of illnesses.

Behaviorism is different from most other approaches because they view people

(and animals) as controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the

result of what we have learned from our environment. Behaviorism is concerned

with how environmental factors (called stimuli) affect observable behavior (called

the response).

The behaviorist approach proposes two main processes whereby people learn from

their environment: namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning involves learning by association, and operant conditioning

involves learning from the consequences of behavior.

Classical conditioning (CC) was studied by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov.

Though looking into natural reflexes and neutral stimuli he managed to condition

dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell through repeated associated with the sound

of the bell and food. The principles of CC have been applied in many therapies.

These include systematic desensitization for phobias (step-by-step exposed to a

feared stimulus at once) and aversion therapy.

B.F. Skinner investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary

behavior. Skinner felt that some behavior could be explained by the person's

motive. Therefore behavior occurs for a reason, and the three main behavior

shaping techniques are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and

punishment.
Behaviorism also believes in scientific methodology (e.g. controlled experiments),

and that only observable behavior should be studied because this can be

objectively measured. Behaviorism rejects the idea that people have free will, and

believes that the environment determines all behavior. Behaviorism is the scientific

study of observable behavior working on the basis that behavior can be reduced to

learned S-R (Stimulus-Response) units.

Behaviorism has been criticized in the way it under-estimates the complexity of

human behavior. Many studies used animals which are hard to generalize to

humans and it cannot explain, for example the speed in which we pick up

language. There must be biological factors involved.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Who hasn't heard of Sigmund Freud? So many expressions of our daily life come

from Freud's theories of psychoanalysis - subconscious, denial, repression and anal

personality to name only a few.

The psychodynamic perspective originated with the work of Sigmund Freud. This

view of psychology and human behavior emphasizes the role of the unconscious

mind, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships to explain

human behavior and to treat people suffering from mental illnesses.

Psychoanalysis became one of the earliest major forces within psychology thanks

to Freud's work and influence. Freud conceived of the mind as being composed of

three key elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the part of the

psyche that includes all the primal and unconscious desires. The ego is the aspect

of the psyche that must deal with the demands of the real world. The superego is

the last part of the psyche to develop and is tasked with managing all of our

internalized morals, standards, and ideals.

Freud believes that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our

behavior as adults. He also believed that people have little free will to make

choices in life. Instead, our behavior is determined by the unconscious mind and

childhood experiences.

Freud’s psychoanalysis is both a theory and a therapy. It is the original

psychodynamic theory and inspired psychologists such as Jung and Erikson to

develop their own psychodynamic theories. Freud’s work is vast and he has

contributed greatly to psychology as a discipline.

Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, explained the human mind as like an iceberg,

with only a small amount of it being visible, that is our observable behavior, but it

is the unconscious, submerged mind that has the most, underlying influence on our
behavior. Freud used three main methods of accessing the unconscious mind: free

association, dream analysis and slips of the tongue.

He believed that the unconscious mind consisted of three components: the 'id' the

'ego' and the 'superego'. The 'id' contains two main instincts: 'Eros', which is the

life instinct, which involves self-preservation and sex which is fuelled by the

'libido' energy force. 'Thanatos' is the death instinct, whose energies, because they

are less powerful than those of 'Eros' are channeled away from ourselves and into

aggression towards others.

The 'id' and the 'superego' are constantly in conflict with each other, and the 'ego'

tries to resolve the discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we tend to use defense

mechanisms to reduce our anxiety. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve

their inner conflicts.

An aspect of psychoanalysis is Freud's theory of psychosexual development. It

shows how early experiences affect adult personality. Stimulation of different areas

of the body is important as the child progresses through the important

developmental stages. Too much or too little can have bad consequences later.

The most important stage is the phallic stage where the focus of the libido is on the

genitals. During this stage little boys experience the 'Oedipus complex', and little

girls experience the 'Electra complex'. These complexes result in children

identifying with their same-sex parent, which enables them to learn sex-appropriate

behavior and a moral code of conduct.

However, it has been criticized in the way that it over emphasizes of importance of

sexuality and under emphasized of the role of social relationships. The theory is

not scientific, and can't be proved as it is circular. Nevertheless psychoanalysis has

been greatly contributory to psychology in that it has encouraged many modern

theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles, but eliminating its

major flaws.

Humanistic perspective

During the 1950s, a school of thought known as humanistic psychology emerged.

Influenced greatly by the work of prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and

Abraham Maslow, this perspective emphasizes the role of motivation on thought

and behavior.

Concepts such as self-actualization are an essential part of this perspective. Those

who take the humanist perspective focus on the ways that human beings are driven

to grow, change, and develop their personal potential. Positive psychology is one
relatively recent movement in psychology that has its roots in the humanist

perspective.

Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of

the whole person (know as holism). Humanistic psychologists look at human

behavior, not only through the eyes of the observer, but through the eyes of the

person doing the behaving.

Humanistic psychologists believe that an individual's behavior is connected to his

inner feelings and self-image. The humanistic perspective centers on the view that

each person is unique and individual, and has the free will to change at any time in

his or her lives.

The humanistic perspective suggests that we are each responsible for our own

happiness and well-being as humans. We have the innate (i.e. inborn) capacity for

self-actualization, which is our unique desire to achieve our highest potential as

people.

Because of this focus on the person and his or her personal experiences and

subjective perception of the world the humanists regarded scientific methods as

inappropriate for studying behavior.

Two of the most influential and enduring theories in humanistic psychology that

emerged in the 1950s and 1960s are those of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
Cognitive Psychology

During the 1960s, a new perspective known as cognitive psychology began to take

hold. This area of psychology focuses on mental processes such as memory,

thinking, problem-solving, language and decision-making.

Influenced by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura, this

perspective has grown tremendously in recent decades.

Cognitive psychologists often utilize an information-processing model, comparing

the human mind to a computer, to conceptualize how information is acquired,

processed, stored, and utilized.

Psychology was institutionalized as a science in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt, who

found the first psychological laboratory.

His initiative was soon followed by other European and American Universities.

These early laboratories, through experiments, explored areas such as memory and

sensory perception, both of which Wundt believed to be closely related to

physiological processes in the brain. The whole movement had evolved from the

early philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato. Today this approach is known as

cognitive psychology.
Cognitive Psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know what

makes people tick then the way to do it is to figure out what processes are actually

going on in their minds. In other words, psychologists from this perspective study

cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired.’

The cognitive perspective is concerned with “mental” functions such as memory,

perception, attention etc. It views people as being similar to computers in the way

we process information (e.g. input-process-output). For example, both human

brains and computers process information, store data and have input an output

procedure.

This had led cognitive psychologists to explain that memory comprises of three

stages: encoding (where information is received and attended to), storage (where

the information is retained) and retrieval (where the information is recalled).

It is an extremely scientific approach and typically uses lab experiments to study

human behavior. The cognitive approach has many applications including

cognitive therapy and eyewitness testimony.

Biological Psychology
The study of physiology played a major role in the development of psychology as a

separate science. Today, this perspective is known as biological psychology.

Sometimes referred to as biopsychology or physiological psychology, this point of

view emphasizes the physical and biological bases of behavior.

Researchers who take a biological perspective on psychology might look at how

genetics influence different behaviors or how damage to specific areas of the brain

influence behavior and personality. Things like the nervous system, genetics, the

brain, the immune system and the endocrine systems are just a few of the subjects

that interest biological psychologists.

This perspective has grown significantly over the last few decades, especially with

advances in our ability to explore and understand the human brain and nervous

system. Tools such as MRI scans and PET scans allow researchers to look at the

brain under a variety of conditions. Scientists can now look at the effects of brain

damage, drugs, and disease in ways that were simply not possible in the past.

We can thank Charles Darwin (1859) for demonstrating in the idea that genetics

and evolution play a role in influencing human behavior through natural selection.
Theorists in the biological perspective who study behavioral genomics consider

how genes affect behavior. Now that the human genome is mapped, perhaps, we

will someday understand more precisely how behavior is affected by the DNA we

inherit. Biological factors such as chromosomes, hormones and the brain all have a

significant influence on human behavior, for example gender.

The biological approach believes that most behavior is inherited and has an

adaptive (or evolutionary) function. For example, in the weeks immediately after

the birth of a child, levels of testosterone in fathers drop by more than 30 per cent.

This has an evolutionary function. Testosterone-deprived men are less likely to

wander off in search of new mates to inseminate. They are also less aggressive,

which is useful when there is a baby around.

Biological psychologists explain behaviors in neurological terms, i.e. the

physiology and structure of the brain and how this influences behavior. Many

biological psychologists have concentrated on abnormal behavior and have tried to

explain it. For example, biological psychologists believe that schizophrenia is

affected by levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter).

These findings have helped psychiatry take off and help relieve the symptoms of

the mental illness through drugs. However, Freud and other disciplines would

argue that this just treats the symptoms and not the cause. This is where health

psychologists take the finding that biological psychologists produce and look at the

environmental factors that are involved to get a better picture.

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology is focused on the study of how evolution explains

physiological processes. Psychologists and researchers take the basic principles of

evolution, including natural selection, and apply them to psychological

phenomena. This perspective suggests that these mental processes exist because

they serve an evolutionary purpose – they aid in survival and reproduction.

A central claim of evolutionary psychology is that the brain (and therefore the

mind) evolved to solve problems encountered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors

during the upper Pleistocene period over 10,000 years ago.

The Evolutionary approach explains behavior in terms of the selective pressures

that shape behavior. Most behaviors that we see/display are believed to have

developed during our EEA (environment of evolutionary adaptation) to help us

survive.
Observed behavior is likely to have developed because it is adaptive. It has been

naturally selected, i.e., individuals who are best adapted survive and reproduce.

Behaviors may even be sexually selected, i.e., individuals who are most successful

in gaining access to mates leave behind more offspring.

The mind is therefore equipped with ‘instincts’ that enabled our ancestors to

survive and reproduce.

A strength of this approach is that it can explain behaviors that appear

dysfunctional, such as anorexia, or behaviors that make little sense in a modern

context, such as our biological stress response when finding out we are overdrawn

at the bank.

The Cross-Cultural Perspective

Cross-cultural psychology is a fairly new perspective that has grown significantly

over the last twenty years. These psychologists and researchers look at human

behavior across different cultures. By looking at these differences, we can learn

more about how our culture influences our thinking and behavior.

For example, researchers have looked at how social behaviors differ in

individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In individualistic cultures, such as the

U.S., people tend to exert less effort when they are part of a group, a phenomenon

known as social loafing. In collectivistic cultures such as China, however, people

tend to work harder when they are part of a group.

The fact that there are different perspectives represents the complexity and richness

of human (and animal) behavior. A scientific approach, such as behaviorism or

cognitive psychology, tends to ignore the subjective (i.e. personal) experiences that

people have.

The humanistic perspective does recognize human experience, but largely at the

expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence. The

psychodynamic perspective concentrates too much on the unconscious mind and

childhood. As such, it tends to lose sight of the role of socialization (which is

different in each country) and the possibility of free will.

The biological perspective reduces humans to a set of mechanisms and physical

structures that are clearly essential and important (e.g. genes). However, it fails to

account for consciousness and the influence of the environment on behavior.