Scientists - AP Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology; opened first psychology lab; structuralism.

William James

Founder of functionalism (a school of thought that focuses on the purpose and function of mental processes and behaviors, rather than simply analyzing their structure); wrote Principles of Psychology.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis; emphasized the unconscious mind and childhood experiences; id, ego, and superego

John B. Watson

Founder of behaviorism; conducted the Little Albert experiment demonstrating classical conditioning in humans.

B.F. Skinner

Developed operant conditioning; used reinforcement and punishment; rat with lever

Ivan Pavlov

Discovered classical conditioning through his work with salivating dogs.

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist; developed client-centered therapy; emphasized unconditional positive regard.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist; created the hierarchy of needs; physiological needs (1), Safety Needs (2), love and belonging needs (3), esteem needs (4), self-actualization needs (5)

Jean Piaget

Developed stages of cognitive development, including sensorimotor and preoperational stages.

Erik Erikson

Developed 8 stages of psychosocial development, such as identity vs. role confusion.

Albert Bandura

Theorized social learning theory; known for observational learning and the Bobo doll experiment.

Elizabeth Loftus

Memory researcher known for studying the misinformation effect and false memories; lost in the mall experiment

Lev Vygotsky

social interaction and culture for cognitive development; zone of proximal development

Howard Gardner

theory of multiple intelligences; posits that intelligence is not a single, general ability, but rather a collection of distinct types of intelligence