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A Brief History of Psychology: From Ancient Philosophers to Modern Perspectives

Psychology has a rich history, dating back to ancient philosophers like Aristotle and Democritus, who explored the nature of the mind and human behavior. The evolution of psychology saw the rise of key figures like Wilhelm Wundt, the father of modern psychology, who established the first psychological laboratory. Moving through various schools of thought such as Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism, Gestalt, and Psychoanalysis, each perspective has contributed to our understanding of human behavior. Today, psychologists incorporate multiple perspectives, including biological, cognitive, and humanistic, to grasp the complexities of the human psyche.

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A Brief History of Psychology: From Ancient Philosophers to Modern Perspectives

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Where does Psychology Come From? A Brief History

  2. Psychology is as old as history and as modern as today • Aristotle: Greek philosopher • Peri Psyches (About the Psyche)-nature of mind behavior • People are basically motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain (modern view)

  3. Psychology is as old as history and as modern as today • Democritus: behavior as body and a mind • Behavior influenced by external stimulation • First to raise issue of free will or choice

  4. Psychology is as old as history and as modern as today • If we are influenced by external forces, can we be said to control our own behavior? • Question: where do the influences of others end and our “real selves” begin?

  5. Structuralism • Willhelm Wundt: debut of modern psych • 1897: established first psychological laboratory in Leipzig,Germany • Claimed that the mind was a natural event and could be studied scientifically (light, heat, flow of blood)

  6. Structuralism • Define makeup of conscious experience, breaking it down into objective sensations (light and taste) and subjective feelings (emotional responses, will, mental images) • Believe that mind functions by creatively combining the elements of experience

  7. Functionalism • Emphasizes the uses or functions of the MIND rather than the elements of experience • Deals with overt behavior as well as consciousness

  8. Functionalism • William James (1842-1910): Wrote first modern psychology textbook, The Principles of Psychology

  9. Functionalism • Influenced by Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory • The “fittest” behavior patterns survive • Adaptive actions tend to be repeated and become habits

  10. Behaviorism • John Watson (1878-1958): Founder of behaviorism • Psychology must limit itself to observable, measurable events-to behavior

  11. Behaviorism Examples: • Pressing a lever, turning left or right, eating and mating, heart rate, dilation of the pupils

  12. Behaviorism • Psychology address the learning of measurable responses to environmental stimuli • Pavlov’s salivating dogs (conditioning not mental processes)

  13. Behaviorism • B.F Skinner (1904-1990): • Reinforcement: organisms learn to behave in certain ways because they have been reinforced for doing so

  14. Gestalt Focused on perception and on how perception influences thinking and problem solving

  15. Gestalt • Perceptions more than the sum of its parts • Wholes that give meaning to parts

  16. Gestalt • Learning to solve problems, is accomplished by insight, not by mechanical repetition • “Aha moment” flash of insight

  17. Psychoanalysis Emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior

  18. Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): • Believed that unconscious thought , especially sexual and aggressive impulses, were more influential than conscious thought in determining human behavior.

  19. Psychoanalysis • Thought mind was unconscious, consisting of conflicting impulses, urges, and wishes. • People motivated to gratify these impulses and urges

  20. Psychoanalysis • Freud: gained his understanding of people through clinical interviews with patients • Gain insight into deep-seated conflicts and find socially acceptable ways of expressing wishes and gratifying needs

  21. How Today’s Psychologists View Behavior

  22. Perspectives • Biological • Cognitive • Humanistic-Existential • Psychodynamic • Learning • Socialcultural

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