HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

The history of Psychology has an elongated past, but only a small history. According to psychology historian Morton Hunt, an experimentation performed by the King of Egypt, as far back as the seventh century B.C., can be considered as the first psychology experiment (Hunt, 1993). The early psychology was regarded as the study of the soul.

In general, the historians spot to the writings of ancient Greek philosophers, such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, as the first momentous work to be rich in psychology-related thought. They considered vital questions like what free will is, how the mind works and what the relationship of inhabitants to their society is.

For hundreds of years, philosophers continued to struggle with these types of related questions, and psychology eventually sprouted out from the roots of philosophy. The history of Psychology also derived its beginning from physiology, another subject that had been studied for thousands of years.

The father of psychology, William Wundt, was originally a professor of physiology. In the mid 19th century, Wundt, a German physiologist started using the scientific research methods to look into reaction times. Wundt works outlined many of the most imperative links between physiology and psychology.

Some of the important early contributors to the history of psychology field include Hermann Ebbinghaus (a pioneer in the study of memory), William James (the American father of pragmatism) and Ivan Pavlov (who developed the procedures associated with classical conditioning).

Some of the questions that were put ahead during the formation of psychology:

• What are the issues and topics should the theme of psychology deal with?
• What kind of research methods should be used when studying psychology?
• Should research be used in order to influence education, public policy and other aspects of human behavior?
• Is psychology a science?
• Should psychology focus on internal mental processes or on observable behaviors?

At present, most of the psychologists do not classify themselves with a single school of thought. As an alternative, they prefer focusing on certain field of perspectives or areas, often drawing conclusions from a wide range of imaginary backgrounds. This modern approach has contributed to new theories and thoughts that still persist to form the future of psychology.

Questions

• How is psychology different from physiology?
• What is the role of functionalism in the history of psychology?