HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY

 Philosophy and Science are the foundation of psychology. It’s known that the field psychology came as a branch of philosophy. Many philosophers like J. Locke, Nicomachus Aristotle, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, Rene Descartes, debated the relation of body with the mind. In turn many psychologists have contributed many issues in philosophy.

Till date, philosophy is closely associated with psychology and its theories. Before psychology came into existence, many philosophers discussed lots of issues that is related to psychology. For example, how do we learn? How we memorize? What makes us think? Why do we think? Perceptions, memory improvement techniques, why we cry, laugh, feel happy or sad? In what way the mind is related to body etc., were the popular topics of the field philosophy. Meanwhile scientists realized that the best way to understand world was through scientific experiments. While performing scientific experiments scientists used their physical organs and sense organs. This aroused many scientists to experiment on brain and nervous system. Wilhelm Wundt was interested in study of mind, inquisitiveness in science, and study of brain and nervous system which lead him to find the field psychology in 1970.

Soon after the birth of psychology, many other theories started to emerge and Schools of Thought aroused. Members of a particular school of thought tend to agree with each other in psychological topics and disagree with members of other schools of thought

The following are some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology

Structuralism:

Wilhelm Wundt defined psychology as “study of mind”.  Wundt and Titchener dealt only with study of structure of consciousness, and this concept is called structuralism.

 But many American psychologist where interested in practical approach to study human behavior. This approach is called functionalism.

 Functionalism:

People wanted science of psychology to solve day to day problems. Philosopher and psychologist William James found functionalism. James wanted to find how mind functioned to solve day to day challenges.

Behaviorism:

The studies of animal behavior lead to an understanding of human behavior. The research  of Ivan Pavlov in Russia and E. L. Thorndike in the United States played an important role in the development of Behaviorism. Behaviorists, J. B. Watson, E. C. Tolman, and B. F. Skinner formed the school of thought based on the principles of learning and a focus on observable behavior.

Gestalt psychology:

This school of thought based on the study of whole patterns of stimuli rather than component parts of stimuli.

 Psychoanalysis:   

Sigmund Freud developed of psychodynamic approach. Freud believed that the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. According to him the human mind was composed the id, the ego, and the superego.  

Humanistic psychology:

Psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers disagreed with least ways of  the Freudians and the behaviorists. The humanistic school of thought emphasizes free will, self-actualization, and the positive aspects of human nature.

Cognitive psychology:

Cognitive psychologist use thinking and knowledge in order to explain human behavior. 

Evolutionary psychology:

Evolutionary psychology uses Darwin’s theory of evolution and tries to explain behavior in terms of inherited adaptations.