-
460
Hippocrates
460 - 377 B.C. He suggested that problems are caused by abnormalities in the brain. This idea influenced our thinking in psychology for about 2000 years. -
500
Europeans in the Middle Ages
500 A.D - 1500 They believed that problems like agitation and confusions were signs of possession by demons. One popular belief of the time was that possession was punishment for sins or the results of making a deal with the devil. Test were used to determine if a person was possessed. One of the most famous tests was the water-float test. -
The Birth of Modern Psychology
1800s The 1800s were the birth of modern psychology. Scientists argued that human behavior and mental processes should be supported by evidence. In the late 1800s psychological laboratories were established in Europe and in the United States. Psychologists studies behavior and mental processes using methods similar to chemists in these laboratories. -
Wilhelm Wundt
1832- 1920 He founded a field of experimental psychology called structuralism. Structuralists were concerned with the basic elements of consciousness. He broke down the content of consciousness into two categories objective sensations and subjective feelings. Structuralists believed that the human mind worked by combining these basic elements of experience. -
William James
1842-1910 He believed that conscious couldn't be broken as structuralists believed, and described his views in The Principles of Psychology. He was one of the founders of the school of functionalism. Functionalists were concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment. -
Sigmund Freud
1856-1939 He founded a school of psychology called psychoanalysis which emphasizes the importance of unconscious motive and internal conflicts in determining behavior. Unlike other psychologists he gained his understanding of human behavior through consultations with patients. Freud's psychodynamic thinking theory assumed that most of what is in an individual's mind is unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses. wishes, and urges. -
John B. Watson
1878-1958 He agreed with the functionalists focus on the importance of learning, but he believed it was unscientific to study a construct like consciousness like animals. He said that if psychology want to be a natural science then it must be limited to observable and measurable events. He founded the school of behaviorism, and defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior. -
B. F. Skinner
1904 - 1990 He introduced the concept of reinforcement which stated that when an animal is reinforced it is more likely to reform that action in the future. He also thought that people learned the same way as animals do. -
Kenneth B. Clark
1914 - 2005 He contributed to psychology's diversity. He earned a PhD in psychology, and founded the Northside center for child development. He also led studies and clinical work that showed the negative effect of segregation on the self-esteem of African American Children -
Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka
1920s Max Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka founded the school of Gestalt psychology because they were fascinated by the ways in which context influences people's interpretation of information. -
Psychoanalytic Theory
1940s - 1950s Psychoanalytic perspective stresses the influence of unconscious forces on human behavior. Psychoanalytic theory dominated the practice of psychotherapy and greatly influenced psychology and the arts. -
Diversity in Psychology
1999 Two thirds of doctoral degrees are awarded to women in psychology.
2000 African Americans make up 6-7% of the first-year students in psychology, and Hispanics make up about 5%. -
The Biological Perspective
Current This perspective emphasizes the influence of biology on our behavior. It has roots in associationism. Psychologist assume that our mental processes are made possible by our nervous system. THese psychologists look for connections between events in the brain. -
The Evolutionary Perspective
Current. This perspective focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes. Charles Darwin theorized that in the struggle for survival, the most-adaptive organisms have the best chance of surviving. These psychologists believe that inherited tendencies influence people to act in certain ways. -
The Cognitive Perspective
Current This perspective emphasizes the roles that thoughts play in behavior. These psychologists study mental processes to understand human nature. They study the ways in which people percieve information and make mental images of the world, solve problems, dream, and daydream. -
The Humanistic Perspective
Current This perspective stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self-awareness and the capacity to make choices. Humanistic psychology sees peoples personal ecperiances as the most important aspect of psychology. Humanistic psychologusts believe that self-awareness, experience, and choice permit us to "invent ourselves." Consciousness is seen as the force that shapes human personality. -
The Learning Perspective
Current. It emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior. Many psychologists believe that learning is essential in observing, describing, explaining, predicting and controlling behavior. The social learning theory suggests that people can change their environments or create new ones. -
The Socioculture Perspective
Current. It studies the influence of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes. Psychologists can better understand how people think and act when taking these factors into account. The sociocultural perspective helps people appreciate the culture and heritages of many ethnic groups. -
Plato
428 - 348 B.C. Plato was a student of Socrates, who recorded his advice which was "know thyself." This phrase has remained a motto of psychology study ever since. -
Aristotle
384 - 322 B.C. he raised many questions about human behavior that are still discussed. He also outlined the laws of associationism. One of his works is Peri Psyches which means "about the mind." He had a scientific approach and he argued that human behavior is subject to certain rules and laws. One universal law he believed was that people are motivated to seek pleasure and to avoid pain.
