Psychology means the “study of the human mind”. The field of psychology is in terms of time, is relatively new to the science circuit. Many men and women have come and gone since the time of Wilhelm Wundt and William James. Even in the infancy of psychology the “founding fathers” had different positions on what psychology meant and how it should be perceived and used. Wilhelm Wundt, known as the “father of experimental psychology” founded the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. Wilhelm Wundt’s focus was in Structuralism, an approach that looks at breaking down consciousness into simpler forms like sensation and feeling. This was one of the earliest “approaches” to the newly formed field of psychology. Meanwhile in …show more content…
Biology is the study of life and therefore biological psychology is the study of humans. It has three very important aspects that makes it unique from the other perspectives, it involves using a comparative method, understanding the physiology of humans, and how inheritance affects our thoughts, moods, and behaviors. Biological psychology is very much on the nature side of the nature/nurture argument. It looks at how genes have shaped who we are. It also looks at brain and body malfunctions as a reason to explain behavior and other psychological aspects. This school of thought is what a psychiatrist would use in prescribing medicine for disorders and/or behavioral interventions. Although primarily focused with genes and nature the biological approach puts great emphasis on the Diathesis/Stress model. This models states people are born with a certain genetic predisposition or disorder and then the environment puts or adds stress therefore allowing that disorder or predisposition to surface and symptomize. Because of this emphasis on the Diathesis/Stress model the biological approach has to acknowledge that environment does have some say in how we develop disorders, illnesses,
It is generally accepted within healthcare that to understand mental health we must adopt the biopsychosocial model. This model assumes that an interdependent relationship exists between biological, psychological and social factors which are involved in all aspects of mental health (Toates, 2010, p. 14). To be true to the model research must be holistic and not investigate the factors in isolation.
The development of psychology like all other sciences started with great minds debating unknown topics and searching for unknown answers. Early philosophers and psychologists such as Sir Francis Bacon and Charles Darwin took a scientific approach to psychology by introducing the ideas of measurement and biology into the way an indi...
Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior if the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analyzing to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of Sigmund Freud, launched what is now modern psychology. Psychology and its research helped the world understand the inner workings of the mind and how it affects everyone around us.
of clients’ problems or issues(2000). Both theoretical approaches have different view of human natural, CBT believes that people are good and independent, whereas psychodynamic theory view people as evil individuals that are the victims of their instincts that must be balance in order to be a healthy function human being(2000). Both of this theoretical approaches are goal oriented, but Psychodynamic is much longer and may lost up to one year compare to CBT 12 weeks or less.
The birth of psychology was in December of 1879, at Germanys University of Leipzig (Myers, 2014, p.2). In 1960, Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener defines psychology as “the science of mental health” (Myers, 2014, p.4). However, two provocative American psychologists, John Watson and B.F Skinner, redefined psychology in 1920. They redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior” (Myers, 2014, p.4). The problem arose when psychologists realized people could not observe feeling or thought so they needed to come up with a new definition for psychology. We define psychology today as “the science of behavior and mental processes” (Myers, 2014, p.4). Psychology includes many subfields such as human development, social behavior,
Rieber, R. W. (2001). Wilhelm Wundt in history: the making of a scientific psychology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
Psychology comprises of two words originally used by the ‘Greeks’, ‘psyche’, defining the mind, soul or spirit and lastly ‘logos’ being study. Both words define together the ‘study of the mind’. Psychology perspectives evaluate the normal and abnormal behaviour and how persons’ deal with different concepts of issues and problems. Psychology theories’ are based on ‘common sense’, but its scientific structure, everything needs to be evaluated and tested, therefore, promoting different psychological theories’.
The study of psychology began as a theoretical subject a branch of ancient philosophy, and later as a part of biological sciences and physiology. However, over the years, it has grown into a rigorous science and a separate discipline, with its own sets of guidance and experimental techniques. This paper aims to study the various stages that the science of psychology passed through to reach its contemporary status, and their effects on its development. It begins with an overview of the historical and philosophical basis of psychology, discusses the development of the various schools of thought, and highlights their effects on contemporary personal and professional decision-making.
Psychology formerly integrated with the subject philosophy; these two formerly considered as one. Philosophy was the center of all learning but many academicians focus more on mathematics, physics, and biology. By the late 1800s, many philosophers created their own disciplines and the era of modern psychology slowly emerged. They soon began calling themselves psychologist. Authors have varying opinion about the founding fathers of the said science; some traces its roots as far as Aristotle and Plato (Benjafield 1996). Other authors believe that modern psychology started at the introduction of experimental psychology and for this reason, several experimental psychologist were also named the father of psychology including, Wilhelm Wundt and Gustav Fechner (Matson, 2009). However, one thing is for sure about psychology – it originated in Europe and introduced in the United States sometime in the late 1880s. Prior to this period, psychology crosses the realms of the paranormal because many practitioners at that time engaged themselves in psychic healing and spiritual quest. They were known as pseudo-psychologists and they were particularly popular in Germany. At the onset of modern psychology in the United State, the discipline focused more on the academics. American psychologists at that time put more emphasis on teaching rather than engaging themselves in research. It was at this period when several schools of thoughts emerged to explain behavior, cognition, and consciousness. In this paper, two of the earliest school of thoughts will be discussed. These are Structuralism and Functionalism. These two will be compared and contrasted.
The biological approach to psychology makes the assumption that all behaviours are associated with changes in the brain function and that psychopathology will be caused by a disorder within the brain, neuroanatomy. Many biological psychologists tend to assume that most behaviours, normal and disordered, involve an inherited component from the biological parents. In theory this suggests that all behaviours can be related to changes in brain activity.
Wilhelm Wundt was the first man to be called a psychologist without reference to a stronger interest. He established the first laboratory in the world that was dedicated to experimental psychology. He was considered to be the "Father of Experimental Psychology." He founded the modern science of psychology, and Wilhem Wundt knew just what he was doing.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) officially opened an institution and laboratory for Psychology, in Leipzig, Germany. Many students were also taught here on experimental psychology. Wundt was touted as a great lecturer, and some of those taught, emulated Wundt's work and made a significant contribution to psychology; for example Edward Titchner (1867-1927), who introduced 'Structuralism' to the United States of America. This facility was renowned through out the world as the premise on which psychology became a science, because, it was there Wundt carried out extensive research on several hypotheses.
Psychology started, and had a long history, as a topic within the fields of philosophy and physiology. It then became an independent field of its own through the work of the German Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology and structuralism. Wundt stressed the use of scientific methods in psychology, particularly through the use of introspection. In 1875, a room was set-aside for Wundt for demonstrations in what we now call sensation and perception. This is the same year that William James set up a similar lab at Harvard. Wilhelm Wundt and William James are usually thought of as the fathers of psychology, as well as the founders of psychology?s first two great ?schools? Structuralism and Functionalism. Psychologist Edward B Titchner said; ?to study the brain and the unconscious we should break it into its structural elements, after that we can construct it into a whole and understand what it does.? (psicafe.com)
Psychology as a self conscious field was believed to have been founded in 1879 when German physiologist and philosopher Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at...
Hergenhahn, B. R., & Henley, T. B. (2014). An introduction to the history of psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.