History of and Approaches to Psychology

Psychology

Study of the behavior and mental processes

Behavior

Any action that other people can observe or measure

Clinical Psychologist

Help people who have diagnosable psychological problems

Counseling Psychologist

Help people who have adjustment problems

School Psychologist

Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning

Developmental Psychologist

Study the changes that occur throughs a person's life span

Personality Psychologist

Identify individual characteristics, traits

Social Psychologist

Analyze people's behaviors in social situations

Industrial/Organizational Psychologist

Focus on people in the workplace (efficiency, satisfaction, etc.)

Forensic Psychologist

Work in the criminal justice system

Health Psychologist

Examine correlations between mental processes and physical health

Structuralism

Analyzes the adult mind in terms of the simplest definable components and how they come together to form one's comprehensive experience

Functionalism

Theory of consciousness, analyzes how we process information to make our lives more simplistic

Behaviorism

Theory that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning/learning/observation

Gestalt Psychology

The idea that the mind forms a global whole while neglecting the pieces that create that whole

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach

Stresses the influence of the unconscious forces on our behavior

Humanistic Approach

Stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment

Evolutionary Approach

Focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes

Biological Approach

Emphasizes the influence of biology/genetics on human behavior

Cognitive Approach

Emphasizes the role that thoughts play in determining behavior

Biopsychosocial Approach

Attributes who we become to factors founded in heredity/genetics, cognition, and culture

Charles Darwin

Studied evolution and believed that all behaviors developed because they were adaptive; believed in and founded the idea of Natural Selection

William James

Became a student under Darwin and furthered research into their shared ideas on evolutionary psychology

Dorothea Dix

Activist who promoted the rights/welfare of the Indigenous Insane, those who lacked the resources to acquire psychological help

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalyst who was the lead researcher of the sub- and unconscious

G. Stanley Hall

Founded the American Journal of Psychology; studied developmental and evolutionary psychology

Ivan Pavlov

Behaviorist who pioneered Classical Conditioning

John Watson

Studied Classical Conditioning under Ivan Pavlov; was the "Little Albert" researcher

Jean Piaget

Developmental psychologist who established the theory of cognitive development

Carl Rogers

Founder of humanistic approach to psychology

BF Skinner

Behaviorist who studied Operant Conditioning

Wilhelm Wundt

Founder of historic structuralism approach to psychology

Albert Bandura

Founded Social Learning Theory, the idea that we learn behaviors by watching others

Experimental Psychologist

Psychologist who uses scientific processes to collect and analyze data

Psychometric Psychologist

Focuses on theory and technique of psychological measurement (of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits)

Human Factors

Interdisciplinary field which discovers and applies information about human behavior, abilities, limitations, and other characteristics to the design and evaluation of products, systems, jobs, tools, and environments for enhancing productive, safe, and comfortable human use