Intro to Psychology - Class One

Jean Piaget

Studied Child Development

Ivan Pavlov

Researched Classical Conditioning

B.F. Skinner

Researched Operant Conditioning

Stanley Milgram

Studied Obedience

Wilhelm Wundt

“Father” of psychology; Founded structuralism

Structuralism

Focus was on the contents of mental processes rather than their function

Edward Tichener

Expanded Wundt’s views to establish theory of structuralism

Max Wertheimer

One of the founders of Gestalt Psychology

Gestalt Psychology

Challenged structuralism; Breaking whole perception into building blocks = loss of important info

William James

First American psychologist; Founder of Functionalism; Coined the term “stream of consciousness” (flow of ideas that people experience when awake)

Functionalism

Saw behavior as purposeful and contributing to survival; Studied why behavior and mental processes worked in a particular way; Emphasized role of evolution ; Absorbed into mainstream psychology