Early Schools of Psychology: Late 19th Century Flashcards
The Early Schools of Psychology: No Longer Active
Structuralism
Functionalism
Early Schools of Psychology: Still Active and Advanced Beyond Early Ideas
Psychodynamic Psychology
Behaviorism
Cognitive Development
Humanistic Psychology
Structuralism
Description:
- Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic elements of “structure” of psychological experiences.
Earliest Period:
- Late 19th Century
Historically Important People:
- Wilhelm Wundt
- Edward B. Titchener
Emphasis: The use of introspection to categorize and break down sensations into basic elements
Functionalism
Description:
- Inspired by Darwin’s work in biology. Attempted to explain behavior, emotion, and thought as active adaptations to environmental pressures. These ideas influenced later behaviorism and evolutionary psychology.
Earliest Period:
- Late 19th Century
Historically Important People:
- William James
- John Dewey
Emphasis: The purpose of a particular human behavior
Psychodynamic Psychology
Description:
- Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior. Modern psychodynamic psychology has built on Freud’s original ideas, and it has also influenced modern neuroscience.
Earliest Period:
- Very late 19th to Early 20th Century
Historically Important People:
- Sigmund Freud
- Erik Erikson
Emphasis: The unconscious influences on thought and behavior
Behaviorism
Description:
- Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind. Therefore, psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behavior itself. Contemporary behaviorism is an active field increasingly integrated with cognitive-neuroscience.
Earliest Period:
- Early 20th Century
Historically Important People:
- Ivan Pavlov
- John B. Watson
- B. F. Skinner
Emphasis: Observable behavior and objectivity
Cognitive Development
Description:
- Studies the growth of thought and language processes in infants and children. Emphasizes the idea that children are not incompetent adults but think creatively and effectively based on their limited experience in the world. Modern cognitive psychology owes a great deal to these early cognitive development researchers.
Earliest Period:
- 1920s
Historically Important People:
- Jean Piaget
- Lev Vygotsky
Emphasis: How people process information
Humanistic Psychology
Description:
- Emphasizes the development of a healthy, effectively functioning person. Rejects the idea that clinical psychology and other applied areas should focus only on disorders and problems. This school developed ideas of self-actualization, personal responsibility, and human potential. Contemporary positive psychology has been strongly influence by humanistic psychology.
Earliest Period:
- 1950s
Historically Important People:
- Abraham Maslow
- Carl Rogers
Emphasis: The development of a healthy effectively functioning person
First Two Prominent Research Psychologists
The first two prominent research psychologists were the German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), who developed the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879, and the American psychologist William James (1842–1910), who founded an American psychology laboratory at Harvard University.
