history and development of modern pyschology
History and Development of Modern Psychology
Have you ever wondered why people think or behave differently from one another? Well that’s what people study in psychology. Psychology is the study behavior and cognitive process. It’s a relatively new science just that started a little over 100 years ago.
Wilhelm Wundt, a German scientist, opened the first psychology lab in 1789. He was the founder of structuralism approach. This approach sought to identify the building blocks, or the structure, of psychological experience. He wanted to make laws of psychology that could explain every behavior. He used methods like introspection, and was the first to discover a difference between sensation and perception.
After Wundt, William James founded the functionalism at Harvard University. Instead of trying to understand the mind William focused on why we behave the way we do. He sought to understand how behaviors can help or hurt us in life. He also studied why some behaviors are more common than others. Functionalism was the foundation for the modern evolutionary psychology.
In the early 20th century, there were three common approaches that psychologist used to study the mind. First, there was Gestalt psychology which focused on how we perceived images. It focused on ideas like emergence, how we notice the whole before noticing pieces, and reification. Psychoanalysis was another big approach common in this era. Psychodynamic psychology was founded by Sigmund Freud, and centered on the unconscious mind. Psychoanalysts believe that problems can be caused by suppressed childhood memories, or unconscious desires. In Addition, John Watson and B.F Skinner‘s behaviorism was also big at the time. This focused on how people and animals are taught behavior; they used conditioning and the principles of reinforcement.
After the 20th century, the field of psychology flourished and molded into Modern Psychology. Psychology today is about behavior, human needs, and creative thinking.
Have you ever wondered why people think or behave differently from one another? Well that’s what people study in psychology. Psychology is the study behavior and cognitive process. It’s a relatively new science just that started a little over 100 years ago.
Wilhelm Wundt, a German scientist, opened the first psychology lab in 1789. He was the founder of structuralism approach. This approach sought to identify the building blocks, or the structure, of psychological experience. He wanted to make laws of psychology that could explain every behavior. He used methods like introspection, and was the first to discover a difference between sensation and perception.
After Wundt, William James founded the functionalism at Harvard University. Instead of trying to understand the mind William focused on why we behave the way we do. He sought to understand how behaviors can help or hurt us in life. He also studied why some behaviors are more common than others. Functionalism was the foundation for the modern evolutionary psychology.
In the early 20th century, there were three common approaches that psychologist used to study the mind. First, there was Gestalt psychology which focused on how we perceived images. It focused on ideas like emergence, how we notice the whole before noticing pieces, and reification. Psychoanalysis was another big approach common in this era. Psychodynamic psychology was founded by Sigmund Freud, and centered on the unconscious mind. Psychoanalysts believe that problems can be caused by suppressed childhood memories, or unconscious desires. In Addition, John Watson and B.F Skinner‘s behaviorism was also big at the time. This focused on how people and animals are taught behavior; they used conditioning and the principles of reinforcement.
After the 20th century, the field of psychology flourished and molded into Modern Psychology. Psychology today is about behavior, human needs, and creative thinking.