MODERN PSYCHOLOGY’S

ROOTS

Chapter One (p. 2-7)

WILLIAM WUNDT

1832-1920

Often referred to as the “Father” of modern psychology.

Opened a laboratory devoted exclusively to psychological experiments in 1879.

E.B. TITCHENERStudent of Wundt

Introduced structuralism, the first prominent system for organizing psychological beliefs

Structuralism attempted to understand the STRUCTURE of consciousness (intensity, clarity and quality of its basic parts)

This provided a theory to disprove that gave rise to other schools of thought.

GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY

School of thought that stated “that the whole is different than the sum of its parts.”

Alone a musical note has one meaning. But putting that note into a symphony gives the note a completely different meaning.

WILLIAM JAMES

(1842-1910)

1st American psychologist

Authored the first psychological textbook

Thought the goal of psych was to study the FUNCTION of consciousness, known as functionalism (how we adapt to our environment).

SIGMUND FREUD

Austrian neurologist who founded the system of psychoanalysis.

Best know for his theories of the unconscious mind and repression.

Belief that sexual drives fueled all human motivation

Interpretation of dreams

PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE

Created by Sigmund Freud

Different in that it:

A) focused on abnormal behavior, which Freud attributed to unconscious drives and conflicts, often stemming from childhood (Mommy/Daddy issues).

B) relied on personal observation and reflection instead of controlled lab experiments (made it personal). Yet this was viewed as “unscientific”.

IVAN PAVLOV

Russian physiologist

Used dogs to study how animals learn and how their bodies react to stimuli.

Fueled a move in psych towards OBSERVABLE behaviors.

Backlash: many viewed these psychologists as trying to predict and therefore control human behavior.

JOHN WATSON

Founder of Behaviorism.Behaviorists study only observable and objectively describable acts; studying anything that one cannot see is subjective

Dominant psych view for most of the 20th century.

B.F. SKINNER

(1904-1990) American psychologist whose ‘brand’ of behaviorism focused on the role of responses in learning.

Famous “Skinner Box”; used animals to study responses to various stimuli.

CARL ROGERS

Humanistic in his approach to psych

Focuses on the conscious experience, the individual’s freedom to choose and capacity for personal growth.

Famous “19 Propositions” of ‘Self’.

Fellow ‘humanistic’ psychologist Abraham Maslow founded the “self-actualization” pyramid.

JEAN PIAGETSwiss developmental psychologist who studied how children develop physically and mentally.

Stressed the importance of education : “only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual."

TICKET OUT THE DOOR

Elaborate on Piaget’s quote : “only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual.“Use complete sentences. At least one paragraph (4-5 sentences).