Historical and Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

Renaissance Observation

1514

During the 1500s, Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the original idea that the universe revolved around the Earth. He published the idea that the sun was the true center of the universe, with all of the other planets revolving around it. Afterwards, Galileo Galilei used a telescope to confirm predictions about star placement and movement based on Copernicus's work. These astronomers started to refine the concept of modern experimentation through observation.

Dualism: Link Between Mind and Body

1647

In the 17th century, the concept of dualism (the idea that the mind and body are distinctively separate) became popular among philosophers. However, Rene Descartes disagreed. He stated that there was a link between the mind and body, and that they influence each other to shape an individual's experience. His contributions, as well as other various Renaissance philosophers, contributed to modern science including psychology.

Phrenology

1800

Marmaduke B. Sampson wrote an account explaining why crime occurs. This account was based off of phrenology, which was the practice of examining a person's head for bumps to determine character and intellect. It was a popular practice in the US, but it is now considered a pseudoscience. Although it consisted of false facts, phrenology inspired scientists to consider the brain as the reason behind human behavior.

Structuralism

1879

In Leipzig, Germany, Willhelm Wundt opened his Laboratory of Psychology. His interest in human behavior resulted in his recognition of establishing modern psychology as a separate field of study. He was known as a structuralist that conducted experiments based on his method of introspection. They were historically significant based on the fact that he advanced our understanding of the psyche and managed to attract many students to the tradition of psychological research.

Functionalism

1890

In 1875, William James taught the first class of psychology at Harvard University. Besides being recognized as "the father of psychology", he published the first textbook of psychology, The Principles of Psychology. As a functionalist, he studied the mental processes that he believed were used for the sake of survival.

Pavlov's Dogs

1902

Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, came up with his well-known classical conditioning experiment on dogs in 1902. As he presented the dogs with meat powder, he would include the sound of a tuning fork. Through this experiment, he created a mental association to food and sound that resulted in an identical response: salivation. Afterwards, the dogs would salivate after only hearing the sound of the tuning fork.

Gestalt

1912

Psychologist Max Wertheimer disagreed with structuralism and behaviorism. He believed in and founded Gestalt psychology, a concept in which people see an organized whole as opposed to seeing multiple parts. For example, people recognize a chair as a whole, as opposed to noticing its legs, seat, and other components.

Freud's Dream Analysis

1940

Physician and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud recognized the importance of the unconscious processes. Therefore, he used a process of analysis to identify what he believed to be the most primitive unconscious urges within dreams. He carefully observed and studied his patients, resulting in extensive notes regarding their personalities and their treatment sessions. These methods of intensive case study are still used as a major tool for investigating behavior.

Cognitivism

1950

Cognitive psychology has continuously been an important factor to understanding human behavior. Thanks to Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Leon Festinger, these cognitivists believed that behavior is more than just a reaction to stimuli; it can be influenced by memory, expectations, and various perceptions.

Sociocultural Psychology

1990

Sociocultural psychology is the study of the behaviors and mental processes of various cultures and ethnicities. As a liberal social psychologist, Doob aimed to explain the factors that contributed to social constructs and influenced human behavior. He believed an important factor was propaganda, in which it wasn't necessarily successful in creating automatic mental responses, but that it was capable of suggesting ideas and provoking pre-existent attitudes.